


Service With a Smile - Welcome to the Fazbear Hotel!

by Murasaki_Rose



Series: Service With a Smile [1]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Anthropomorphic, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Interspecies Romance, M/M, Shounen-ai, Slash, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-03 15:16:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5296286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Murasaki_Rose/pseuds/Murasaki_Rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Golden Freddy x Phone Guy story set in an alternate universe where the animatronics are living anthropomorphic animals and humans are an endangered species.  Also space travel.  SPAAAAAACE!</p>
<p>After being chosen as the hotel's next general manager, Paul has one month to prove he's the man for the job.  But with xenophobic customers, jealous staff, a former employer out to sabotage him, and a flirty hotel owner, does the human stand a chance, or will he be sent back home?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Title:  Service With a Smile - Welcome to the Fazbear Hotel!  
Part:  1/??  
Author:  Murasaki Rose  
Beta:  none  
Genre:  AU/Romance/Humor/Sci-Fi  
Rating:  PG-13  
Spoilers:  None that I know  
Warnings:  Slash~i.e. male x male pairings, swearing, suggestive language and humor  
Pairings:  Golden Freddy x Phone Guy  
Minor Pairings:  Foxy x Chica, Toy Bonnie x Mangle, Toy Freddy x Toy Chica  
Disclaimer:  Here we go...Five Nights at Freddy's and all related characters are the property/creation of Scott Cawthon.   In other words, they aren't mine and I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just a fangirl having some fun.

Summary:  After being chosen as the next general manager, Paul has one month to prove he's the man for the job.  But with xenophobic customers, jealous staff, a former employer out to sabotage him, and a flirty hotel owner, does the human stand a chance, or will he be sent back home?

Author's Notes:  More fun from my mutinous brain.  An alternate universe wherein the animatronics are living anthropomorphic animals and humans are an endangered species.  Also space travel.  SPAAAAAACE!

Just so you guys know going into this, Paul is my version of Phone Guy.  Additionally, because the bots living creatures, I've given each of the toys different names so things won't get too confusing.  If you can't tell from the character's description, the footnotes will clarify who is who.  As for Spring Bonnie/Springtrap, as his/her gender is now up for debate I had to pick one; so for this story universe Spring will be male.

Flames will be used to keep me warm while I write and will only make me more determined to continue.  ( _They may also cause me to break out in frequent bouts of maniacal laughter._ ) Soooo......come at me bro.

-

I swear to God, I almost called this: _Fast Times at the Fazbear Hotel_.  Stupid brain, don't make me poke you with a Q-tip.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Stepping out of his home office, Paul (1) breathed a sigh of relief.  That had gone much better than he'd hoped.

"Well?"

The red-head jumped, he'd forgotten that his friends from work had been waiting in his tiny living room to find out how the interview went.

Pushing his black wire-rimmed glasses back up his nose, he broke into a huge smile, his warm brown eyes sparkling in delight.  "I got it!"

"Congratulations!!" they cheered, dragging him out of the hall and into a group hug.

"I knew you could do it!" one of them squealed, hugging him again for good measure.

"It-it's just a trial period, so don't uh, get too excited."

"Don't start doubting yourself now man!"

"You're too talented to waste your life away here."

"Even if you do half the job there that you do here, you'll still knock em dead."

"You guys are right," he gave them a determined smile, "I've got a whole month to show them what I can do."

x-x-x-x-x

"What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Just finished talking to our first choice for Rolfe's replacement," Golden Fazbear replied, pulling up his ID screen and showing it to the gold rabbit who had just invaded his office.

"Human huh?"

Golden chuckled, "He's got all the right qualifications and did fantastic through the interview."  That was where all the other applicants had failed.  They'd been arrogant, inflexible, and held an underlying current of disdain for the staff; it made Golden wonder how other hotels managed to function.

Noticing his friend's rather silly grin Spring Lapin (2) gave the bear a suspicious look, "Is this the one that left that message you were gushing over a couple weeks ago?"

"I wasn't gushing," the gold bear defended, "....and yes."

Silver eyes narrowed, "Sure you're not picking him because of that?"

Golden fixed the rabbit with an aqua glare, "You know me better than that.  It's not his fault he's the best qualified and happens to be completely adorable."

Spring rolled his eyes, "You're impossible."

"Don't you have work of your own to do?" the bear asked, annoyed by his friend's attitude.

The rabbit smirked, "I'm in-between cases and the Chief doesn't like me hanging around unless I've got something to do."

Now it was Golden's turn to roll his eyes, "That's because you scare the rookies."

"It's good for 'em."

x-x-x-x-x

A few weeks later, the red-haired human found himself walking up to the front desk of the Fazbear Hotel, carrying the entirety of his possessions packed in two suitcases and a duffle bag. 

"Welcome to the Fazbear Hotel!  Do you have a reservation?" a green parrot Tieran greeted him, a cheerful smile on her face.

Shaking his head, he sat his bags down.  "I'm Paul Cawthon, I'm supposed to meet Mr. Fazbear and Mr. Wolfe this afternoon."

"Oh!  You must be the new general manager!"

"Well at least for the next month-"

"If you can impress Rolfe, then you'll be in," a light blue-furred rabbit interrupted.  "Asagi Lapin (3), concierge.  I've called Golden and Rolfe, they'll be down shortly to meet you Mr. Cawthon."

Paul shook his hand, noting that the Tieran was a good 10 centimeters shorter than he was, not counting the ears of course, and had bright green eyes that stood out vividly against his white muzzle.  "Pleased to meet you Mr. Lapin and please, call me Paul."  He always like to be on a first name basis with the key personnel, it had led to him gaining the very friends that had pushed him into applying for this job.

Asagi grinned, already starting to like the human, "I'll do that, but only if you call me Asagi."

"Mr. Cawthon?"  At the sound of his name, the red-head turned to face the gray wolf who had addressed him and the tall, gold-furred bear standing beside him.

"Ah!  Hello, hello!"

Golden felt his heart skip a beat when he heard the man's familiar greeting and fought the urge to smile goofily at the lithe-framed human.

Taking note of his distraction, Rolfe stepped forward and introduced himself, giving the young bear time to recover, "I'm Rolfe Wolfe (4), retiring general manager."

Shaking hands with the gray wolf, Paul smiled "It's great to meet you in person."

Rolfe nodded and stepped back, letting Paul's attention shift to the imposing figure with him.  The gold-furred bear stood 36 centimeters taller than the human and had the large frame typical of bear-Tierans.  However, the warm smile and twinkling aqua eyes assuaged any unease that might have cropped up as the bear extended his large hand.

"Pleasure to meet you in person, Mr. Cawthon," he said, taking the human's much smaller hand in his own.  "I took over for my father last year, so I'm going to let Rolfe do most of the talking as he knows his job best."

"That's all right," Paul's bright smile turned a bit shy as their eyes locked.  "And ah, you can both call me Paul."

"Well then Paul, if you're ready to proceed, we'll begin the tour."  Rolfe nodded towards the front desk.  "Asagi will have your things taken to your dorm."

Nodding, the human started to follow, stopping when he felt a gentle tug on the end of his ponytail.  Turning around, he found the hotel owner wearing a guilty expression, one paw still extended from touching the tempting locks.  Somehow Paul found the look endearing, like catching a child in the act of sneaking a cookie, and found himself giving the bear a gentle smile despite his confusion.

"Ah, Mr. Fazbear?"

"Sorry!  I'm not used to seeing humans with hair that long and in that natural color."  It was a horrible excuse but completely true.  The long, dark-red tresses lacked the scent of dyed hair and glimmered in a way only natural hair could.  When the mid-back length tail had flicked with the movement of Paul's head, Golden's body had acted on its' own and before he knew it, he had gently taken hold of the end.

"I-it's all right, sir."

Shaking his head, the bear smiled at the flustered human, "Call me Golden."

"O-okay."

x-x-x-x-x

A few hours later, after an extensive tour of the hotel, Paul was left to settle into his dorm room while Golden and Rolfe went to talk in the General Manager's office.

Safely behind closed doors, the old wolf spoke his mind, "I have to say, I'm surprised by your behavior.  It's not like you to act so unprofessional."

Golden hung his head, "I'm sorry.  I don't know what kept coming over me."

Reaching up, the wolf placed a paw on his shoulder.  "Don't worry about it son.  I've known you since you were a cub and there must be something special about this human that's got you acting out of sorts."

"I-I think I want to court him," the bear admitted.

Rolfe's eyes widened in shock, "You've only met him in person today-"

"And spoke with him twice on the holophone, I know."  He shook his head, "Dad said when I met the right one it would be sudden but..." his voice trailed off as a solution came to mind.  "I'm putting his review in your hands."

"What?"

"I can't make an unbiased decision but I know you will," the bear asserted, a determined glint in his aqua eyes.

"I suppose..."  This wasn't normally how things were done....

"I'll use the time to get to know him."

"If you're that serious about it, then I'll accept the responsibility."

"Thank you."

x-x-x-x-x

A chill raced down Paul's back as the feeling of being watched returned.  It was his third day at work and he was currently going through an inspection run with Rolfe.  On his first day they'd spent the majority of the time in the general manager's office going over paperwork and procedures.  Yet each time they left the office, he could feel eyes on him and they weren't the curious eyes of the staff.   No...these eyes were focused and intense.

On his second day, he discovered who the owner of those eyes was.  That day Rolfe had decided they would go through the Employee Housing inspections first, then move on to the hotel and end with the club.  While they were talking with the dorm manager, she suddenly cut herself off mid-sentence and stormed down the hallway, disappearing around the corner.

"What do you think you're doing young man?!"

A loud yelp followed by, "Ow, ow, ow." was heard before she reappeared, dragging Golden around the corner by his ear, berating him for his rude behavior the whole time.  Rolfe had raced down to rescue the bear from the woman's wrath, whispering something in her ear that changed her attitude completely.  Releasing his ear, she gave him a motherly smile and patted him on the cheek then turned and did the same to Paul who had just reached the trio.  Baffled, he'd looked between the two older staff members for some clue but Rolfe had just shook his head and led them away from the visibly embarrassed young owner.

Now that he was feeling those eyes again, he gave the area a quick scan and sure enough, the gold-furred bear was watching from the shadows.  Not knowing why his boss felt the need to lurk behind him while he was working with Rolfe frustrated him, but he tried to ignore it as best he could. 

When the kitchen inspection was complete, the executive chef approached him with some friendly advice.  "Paul, please don't let my brother-in-law creep you out," the perky yellow chicken said.  "I know he's acting kinda weird, but I promise he doesn't have any ill intentions."

A little frustrated from the constant, intense attention he blurted out, "Then why is he watching me from the shadows?!  I've never been observed like this before!"  He was starting to feel like prey.

She gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm sure he'll explain himself soon."

Paul gave her a weak one in return, "I hope so Kingen (5), I really do."

'Me too sweetie,' the chicken thought as the human left to continue inspections, Golden's presence leaving with him.

x-x-x-x-x

By accompanying Rolfe around the hotel in his first week, Paul had met all the key staff and learned how things were done at the hotel.  While most things were the same as what he was used to, there were key differences in running a hotel this size over the one he'd worked at before.  Now that his first week was at an end, the human intended to relax and after a good night's sleep, use part of his day off to give his older brother a call.

Paul hadn't been in his dorm for more than a few minutes when he heard a rapid knocking at his door.  Curious, the red-head opened it and was met by an excited Asagi.

"You don't have any plans tonight do you?"

"Uh, no-"

"Good!  You can go out with us tonight!"

Paul blinked, "Us?"

"Me and my brother, Golden and his brothers, Chica, and Kingen of course."

The blue rabbit nearly burst into laughter at Paul's wide-eyed, shocked expression and was prepared for the protest he got in response.  "B-but Golden's the owner!  I d-don't think i-it'd be proper!"

Asagi gave the human a sly grin, "You really have no clue, do you?" he murmured, confusing the brown-eyed man.  Six days here and the human hadn't figured out he had a not-so-secret admirer.  "No one's going to complain.  He's technically the boss of all of us."  Turning Paul around by the shoulders he began pushing him towards the bedroom, "Now go freshen up and change into something nice, but not too fancy and I'll be back to get you in about thirty minutes."

"But I-"

Right before slipping out the door, the green-eyed rabbit added, "Don't worry about eating, we're getting dinner too!"

Bewildered, the human stood there for a moment going over what just happened in his head, a bright smile appearing as the realization struck, he just got invited to a group outing.

x-x-x-x-x

Paul couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun.  At first he'd felt a bit awkward being the only new person in the group, but with a little cajoling from Asagi, he soon felt at ease.  He even managed to stop tensing up every time Golden looked his way, though he still found himself blushing or stuttering around the bear.

After an excellent dinner, they decided to move to the lounge for drinks and more conversation.  Just as they reached the doorway, a cheerful pair of rhino-Tierans came stumbling out of the bar, laughing and holding each other up.  Without thinking, Golden placed an arm around Paul's shoulder and drew him to his side.  "Can't have you getting crushed," he explained to the blushing human with a smile.  As if the universe wanted to prove his point, one of the rhinos stumbled and fell right where Paul had been standing.

If anyone noticed that Golden didn't take his arm away from Paul until they were seated in the lounge, no one mentioned it.  By this time everyone in their group, except the absent Renard twins and Paul himself, was aware of the bear's interest in the human.

Drinks were ordered and talk resumed, though they all stopped when Paul started coughing.  The small shot-glass worth of Tieran liquor had burned like nothing he had ever experienced and sent him into a brief coughing fit.  Fortunately, the bartender was used to non-Tieran patrons and had left a large glass of water for the man.  Assured Paul wasn't about to keel over on them, they began talking once more with only a little bit of friendly ribbing towards the human member of their group.

About ten minutes later, Golden felt the red-head snuggle up to his side.

"Paul?"

"You're warm," the human answered.

Smiling, Golden slipped an arm around his waist, "Better?"

"Umm-hmm."

A few minutes later, Bonnie nudged Freddy and grinned.  "Check out your brother and Paul."

Blue eyes widened in surprise at the sight, apparently the human had decided he'd be far more comfortable sitting _**in**_ Golden's lap than next to him.

Asagi had noticed too and was snickering at the pair, "He's completely trashed."

"Oh dear, I didn't realize he'd be such a lightweight," Chica muttered.  "He's going to have an awful headache tomorrow."

Too out of it to notice the sudden attention, Paul continued running his fingers through the fur on Golden's arm.  The contrast between his tan skin and Golden's bright fur absolutely fascinating to him.

Realizing they had an audience, Golden snorted and secured his grip around Paul's waist.  "You can all shut up.  I'm going to enjoy this now and feel guilty tomorrow."

x-x-x-x-x

Once they determined that no, Paul could not walk under his own power, Golden carried the man home and into the employee dorms where he received a scathing glare from the dorm manager that promised a vicious lecture for him in the near future.  Despite her anger that Golden had allowed his intended to get in such a state, she remained quiet for the human's sake and unlocked Paul's dorm since the red-head was in no state to dig his keycard out.

Moving quickly through the small living area and into the bedroom, Golden tried to set Paul down on the bed, but the affectionate red-head seemed to have no intention of letting go.  "All right cuddle-bug, time for bed," the bear said as he tried to set him down again.

"Noooo, m'comfy," Paul protested, burying his face in the bear's chest.  

Golden felt his face heat up as the inebriated human snuggled closer.  He really had to get the man to let go!  After thinking the problem over for a moment, he had the best idea..."Paul, if you don't let go, I'm going to tickle you."

Foggy brown eyes narrowed, "You wouldn't."

Smirking, the bear leaned in until they were nose-to-nose.  "Try me."

"Fiiiiine," the human whined, loosening his grip and eventually letting go when Golden placed him on the bed.  "Meany," he grumbled, pulling at his shirt and getting it stuck halfway over his head.

Chuckling at the red-head's childish behavior, the bear gripped his shirt and pulled it over Paul's head.

Freed from his shirt, he flopped onto his back and set about trying to remove his pants, oblivious to his enraptured audience.

Golden was frozen in place, staring at Paul's bare chest and wondering if the tanned skin was as soft and smooth as it looked.

"Help?"

'This is a test, isn't it?' the bear thought plaintively as he realized that in his drunken state, the poor human couldn't even handle unbuckling his own belt.

Sending a silent prayer to the gods for strength, Golden reached down and helped the struggling man out of his pants, averting his eyes as much as possible.  He could hear the human rustling about behind him as he folded the garment and draped it over the end of the bed.  Turning around he caught a glimpse of the most adorable pair of boxers he'd ever seen just before Paul sloppily covered himself with the blankets.  Comfortable and warm, his sleepy brown eyes tried to focus on the bear, but kept drooping shut before finally staying closed.

Smiling, Golden carefully removed Paul's glasses and set them on the bedside table, "You just keep getting cuter don't you?"

x-x-x-x-x

The next morning the gold bear returned to the human's dorm with a care package and a few other supplies in tow.  Once again the dorm manager let him in, warning the young bear to behave himself as she left.  Padding softly to the bedroom, Golden set his supplies outside the door then closed the blinds in case the red-head was light sensitive.

Opening the door and slipping into the darkened bedroom, Golden very, very quietly shut it behind him.  "Paul?"

His voice was so soft the human barely heard it and almost didn't respond.  Almost.

Golden smiled as a tan hand popped out from under the covers to wave in the direction of the door.  "I brought you some water and Chica's hangover cure."

Having felt horribly thirsty since he first woke and willing to try anything to get the pain to ease, the red-head slowly eased his way out from under the blankets and into a sitting position.

"Oh Paul," the bear murmured.  The poor man looked pitiful.  "I'm so sorry," he said, kneeling down on the floor beside the bed.

"Not your fault," the human whispered, with his poor alcohol tolerance he should never have tried more than a taste.

"You need something solid in your stomach first, so let's see if you can keep this down."  Chica had warned the bear that it wouldn't be effective on an empty stomach so handing Paul a water bottle and some soft crackers, Golden waited patiently for the red-head nibble his way through the bland filler.  When he was sure the human wasn't going to lose everything he'd just eaten, he pulled out a thermal mug and handed it over.

Paul blanched at the vibrant green liquid inside and cast a worried glance at the bear.

"I know it looks like one of those weird health drinks, but this actually tastes good."  Golden assured him.  Seeing the human's curious expression he grinned, "We've all needed it at least once.  Chica started working on it while she was studying bartending and used us as guinea pigs for her drinks and her cure."

Taking a cautionary sniff, Paul was surprised by the drink's light, almost floral scent.  Sipping the green concoction, he found it went down easily, the taste mild but appealing.  "Am I supposed to drink it all now?" he asked, taking another sip.

Golden nodded, "It'll leech all the excess alcohol and toxins from your system."

"Thank you," the human whispered, giving the bear a faint smile.

Cupping Paul's face with one large hand he very lightly brushed a thumb across the red-head's now blushing cheek, "You're welcome."  Smiling he pulled away, allowing the human a chance to finish Chica's drink and calm his racing heart.  They sat in a surprisingly comfortable silence until Paul finished and Golden was able to give him a human-sized dose of painkillers and some more water.

As the red-head was dozing off, Golden started to get up when a slender, tan hand shot out from under the blanket and gripped his, stopping him from getting far.  "Stay?"

Golden hummed as though in thought, but internally he was dancing with glee.  His human was comfortable enough around him to look to him for comfort.  "Just let me grab something to sit on, all right?"  The delicate-seeming fingers released their grip, allowing the bear a chance to slip into the living room and grab the large bean bag chair propped in the corner.  Putting it on the floor where he'd been sitting, Golden took his place at the human's bedside, smiling when Paul gripped his hand again.

x-x-x-x-x

A few hours later, Paul's eyes blinked sleepily as he tried to figure out what was keeping his hand in place.  He still ached horribly, making it difficult to focus, but at least it no longer felt like he had a ground shuttle taking off in his head.   Finally enough of the fog cleared that he was able to focus on the gold-furred hand and smiling face of Golden Fazbear.

"Feeling better?" he asked, giving the human's hand a comforting squeeze before relinquishing his hold.

Paul nodded.  "I'm sorry for wasting your time Golden," the red-head murmured, a deep blush growing on his face.

"You're never a waste of my time," the bear insisted, enjoying how Paul's blush darkened further.  "Think you'll be all right on your own?"

Another nod.  Golden's concern was overwhelming him, was this how Tierans treated all their friends?

"Well then," standing, he picked up the bean bag chair, "I'll let you get on with your day.  You mentioned calling home?"

"Yeah, I uh, promised my brother I'd keep him updated."

"He's important to you isn't he?" the bear replied, getting a bright smile in return.

"Scott's (6) always been there for me.  He supported me when I pursued my dreams and stood up for me when our dad got upset with me...n-not that anything happened of course..."

That caught Golden's interest.  Unfortunately unless the human confided in him, he had no business prying until they were properly courting.  Resting a paw on the human's back, he gently rubbed Paul's shoulders, "If you need anything or start feeling worse, call me.  I mean it."

The brown eyes that had been gazing up into his aqua ones, cast themselves down shyly.  "Okay."

Reluctantly, Golden removed his hand and stepped away from the human, "I'll see you in the morning."

Alone, Paul waited until he heard the door to his dorm shut before sliding out of bed.  With the pain in his head at a tolerable level, the human pushed aside his confused thoughts and decided his first priority should be a shower.

Stumbling to the bathroom, he stripped off his boxers and as he went to throw them in the hamper, moaned in embarrassment when he saw the familiar teddy bear pattern.  Of course he was wearing these.   He wasn't even going to hope that Golden hadn't seen them the night before, his luck wasn't that good.

x-x-x-x-x

The next morning, Paul stood at the front of one of the hotel's largest ballrooms alongside Rolfe and Golden while most of the staff filtered in.  Today was the first day Paul would be on his own and both owner and retiring general manager wanted everyone to know who he was.  After a brief introduction from Golden, Paul greeted the crowd expressing his eagerness to work with such an excellent crew.  A smiling Rolfe had then warned them that while he would be observing Paul on the job, that he would not be available, not even to the human.

The excited red-head noted that Rolfe had not warned them to "take it easy" on him or "treat him as you would treat me".  He hoped it was because the old wolf thought Paul could handle anything they threw at him and trusted his people to still perform at their best.  Having had their say, Rolfe and Paul stepped back for Golden to finish the meeting up.

"Before everyone leaves, I have one final announcement."  Waiting until all eyes were on him, Golden revealed the primary reason for the mass staff meeting, "I will not be the one to decide if Mr. Cawthon becomes our next General Manager.  I am leaving the decision and his final evaluation in the hands of Mr. Wolfe and the senior staff."

Stunned, Paul didn't know what to think of Golden's announcement, he'd known from the beginning that the Fazbear's were hands-on about picking their senior staff so why would the bear relinquish his say in the matter?

Looking around, he could see most of the staff were as surprised as he was, but a few seemed to have been expecting this.  So many questions were swirling around his head that he didn't even realize they were alone until the room quieted and the sound of the doors shutting broke through his daze.

"Ah, Golden?" he called out, waiting until the bear had turned to face him.  "Why?"

Stepping into the human's personal space, Golden bent down far enough to put his mouth by Paul's ear.  "Because I like you."

"Wha-?" Paul felt his heart start racing and his face heat in a blush.  'Why does this keep happening?'

Golden drew back and tucked a loose strand of hair back behind the wide-eyed human's ear.  'So cute,' he thought before answering, "My opinion would likely be too biased, but Rolfe will judge you fairly no matter what."

Stepping back, he gave Paul a gentle smile. "I'll still be keeping an eye on you."

Recovering a bit, the human raised an eyebrow, "If you think about what you just said, it sounds a bit creepy, you know."

Chuckling, the gold-furred bear sauntered away, tossing out a "See you around." before disappearing out the door.

-

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

1 - (Phone Guy) Paul Cawthon

2 - (Spring Bonnie/Springtrap) Spring

3 - (Toy Bonnie) Asagi - light blue [Japanese]

4 - Internet cookies if you get this reference from my childhood.

5 - (Toy Chica) Kingen - cheerful, joyful [Japanese]

6 - Why yes, I did name Paul's big brother Scott.  I couldn't help myself.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Bonus Info:  Character Ages

Golden & Spring: 27

Freddy, Bonnie, Chica: 24

Paul: 23

Foxy, Mangle, Kima: 22

Asagi, Kingen:  21


	2. Chapter 2

Title:  Service With a Smile - Welcome to the Fazbear Hotel!  
Part:  2/??  
Author:  Murasaki Rose  
Beta:  none  
Genre:  AU/Romance/Adventure/Sci-Fi  
Rating:  PG-13  
Spoilers:  None that I know  
Warnings:  Slash~i.e. male x male pairings, swearing, suggestive language and humor  
Pairings:  Golden Freddy x Phone Guy  
Minor Pairings:  Foxy x Chica, Toy Bonnie x Mangle, Toy Freddy x Toy Chica  
Disclaimer:  Here we go...Five Nights at Freddy's and all related characters are the property/creation of Scott Cawthon.   In other words, they aren't mine and I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just a fangirl having some fun.

Summary:  After being chosen as the new general manager, Paul has one month to prove he's the man for the job.  But with xenophobic customers, jealous employees, a former employer out to sabotage him, and a flirty hotel owner, does the human stand a chance, or will he be sent back home?

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

He was being watched.  
  
Not that this was out of the ordinary, Rolfe had been observing him at different points to watch his performance and Golden...well he wasn't quite sure why the bear was following him around.  The female Tierans seemed to know, if the giggling was anything to go by, but no one wanted to tell him.  
  
No, this stare was much more intense.  Almost predatory, like he was about to get pounced.  
  
It had started when Golden was called away to take care of some hotel business and it didn't show signs of letting up. Deciding not to let it get to him, he checked his watch and noticed he had just enough time to grab a granola bar for lunch before he met with Kima (1).  The bear had an employee review coming up with a somewhat problematic youth and wanted Paul's input.  
  
"Well hello, little human."  
  
Now Paul would like to say that he did NOT in fact shriek when Spring popped out in front of him, wearing a too-wide smile reminiscent of a homicidal maniac.  He'd like to, but that would be a lie.  
  
"IIYAAA!!!!" Jumping back, Paul misstepped and wobbled dangerously off-balance.  Bracing for a painful fall, he was stunned when instead he fell back against a warm, familiar chest and a strong arm wrapped around his shoulders.  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
Looking up into concerned aqua eyes, Paul nodded.  "Thanks for catching me."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
Steadying himself, Paul turned his attention to the gold-furred rabbit that had startled him.  He was tall, maybe even taller than Golden, with silver eyes, a torn right ear, and a deep scar cutting across his right eye.  He would have been an intimidating figure if he hadn't been doubled over in laughter.  From behind the human, Golden was giving the rabbit a dark glare that had Spring laughing even harder.  
  
As the rabbit's laughter died down, Golden sighed and shifted to Paul's side.  "Paul, believe it or not, the laughing jackass here is a detective with the Luonto Police and our head of Security."  
  
Straightening up and giving the human a normal smile, the tall rabbit extended a hand. "Spring Lapin."  
  
Smiling back, the red-head shook the offered hand, "Paul Cawthon."  
  
"Oh I know who you are," the rabbit smirked, noticing that Golden still hadn't taken his arm away from the human's shoulders.  
  
Completely oblivious, Paul laughed.  "Considering your position, I suppose you would."  
  
"That and Golden and I have been best friends since we were kids."  
  
Remembering something Asagi mentioned during the group outing, Paul gave the tall rabbit a curious look, "You're Asagi and Bonnie's older brother aren't you?"  The blue rabbit had been disappointed his eldest brother would miss the chance to hang out that day and properly meet Paul, but knew his job as a detective was important.  
  
Spring nodded, "and if you're calling them by name, then you can do the same with me."  
  
Brown eyes twinkling, the red-head grinned, "I'll do that Spring, as long as you call me Paul."  
  
"It's a deal."  
  
Glancing at this watch, Paul blanched at the time displayed.  "I'm sorry! I've got to get going, I'm supposed to meet Kima in his office in about 3 minutes."  With an apologetic smile, the human gave both Tierans a cheerful wave and walked off at a brisk pace.  
  
"He didn't eat lunch," Spring commented once Paul was out of sight.  
  
"I know."  Golden sighed and pinched the bridge of his muzzle, "and he never eats enough when he does.  The doctor said he's too thin for a human."  
  
"Got a plan?"  
  
"Not much of one.  We're not courting, so I'm a bit limited in my meddling.  I've got Kima and Kingen helping me trick him into eating proper dinners."  
  
"Let me guess, she keeps bringing new dishes for him to try?"  
  
"You got it," the bear smirked, "and since he's only been here nine days, he has no idea that most of the "new" dishes she's bringing are ones from the old menus."  
  
"And Asagi tries to make him eat lunch," the rabbit chuckled at the memory of watching his youngest sibling pounce on and drag the human to the break room.  
  
"When he can catch him," Golden amended with a somewhat exasperated smile.  His human was constantly on the move, always finding something he could do, it made keeping out of sight while following him quite the challenge.  
  
x-x-x-x-x  
  
Silently from behind his mask of professionalism, Asagi groaned the minute Eis Bär spotted Paul, why couldn't this have happened two weeks ago?!  The old arctic bear was always trouble when he stayed here and had the worst timing.  He also had a distinct disliking of aliens, but since he'd demanded to see the General Manager....  
  
"Who are you and where is Mr. Wolfe?!"  
  
The human didn't even bat an eye, "I'm Paul Cawthon, the acting General Manager, Mr. Wolfe is retiring, sir."  
  
"Ah, so you're merely temporary."  He gave Paul a condescending sneer, "An alien, much less a weak and pathetic human like you, could never hope to manage a hotel of such prestige."  
  
"Be that as it may, I am the only General Manager available."  
  
"Hmph."  The bear snorted and standing up to his full height, looked down his nose at the slim-framed human, "Very well, one of your maids has cost me a rare and expensive bottle of liquor and I insist she be brought to task!"  
  
With a quick search on his tablet, Paul sent an emergency page to the head of housekeeping.  He would need her to confirm the details.  Having already heard about the incident from the maid herself, the graying badger had already been on her way to speak with Paul about it when she got his page so it only took moments for her to arrive.  
  
"Yes, Mitzi (2) was cleaning Mr Bär's room.  She knocked over a liquor bottle and picked it up almost immediately.  Unfortunately, when Mr. Bär shouted at her, she was startled so badly that she dropped the bottle and it fell to the ground and shattered."  
  
"Unfortunate!!!" the bear roared.  "That bottle cost more than that girl makes in a year!  Bring her here and deal with her immediately!"  
  
Checking security's pictures of the ruined bottle and confirming the cost and condition of the bottle before and after its' destruction, Paul pulled up the appropriate refund and handed his tablet to Asagi so the rabbit could begin processing it.  
  
"Mr. Bär, on behalf of the hotel I am sorry about this incident and of course we will be compensating you for your loss-"  
  
"And what of that incompetent girl?!  I want her brought to task NOW!!" he bellowed, bending down to get right in Paul's face.  
  
"I do not chastise in employees in front of other staff or guests, nor do I allow anyone else to do so," he replied, never breaking eye contact with the massive Tieran.  
  
  
  
Observing the situation from where they could not be seen, Rolfe knew the smitten cub standing next to him would react the moment Bär got in Paul's face.  "Do not interfere unless it is absolutely necessary!" the old wolf hissed as he grabbed Golden's shoulder just as he started to move.  "You cannot let your desire to protect him override your common sense, this is as much a part of the job as anything else!"  
  
With a quiet snarl of protest, Golden conceded to the elder Tieran.  Rolfe was absolutely right.  Dealing with belligerent customers came with the job...it was also why they had an excellent security team already on hand to assist should things get out of control.  But if that old bastard laid a finger on his human....  
  
  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Bär spotted the security staff closing in and stood back up, noting with distaste that the human was not looking away.  "A soft-hearted alien like you will never last here," he sneered, "Mr. Wolfe would have brought her to task here and now."  
  
Squaring his shoulders and setting his feet, Paul continued to stare the Tieran in the eyes, "I do not chastise employees in front of other staff or guests," he repeated.  He didn't believe the bear for a second, but he wasn't going to argue with someone who already hated him.  
  
"Fine," Bär snarled, snatching up his refund while glaring down at the slender-framed human.  "I look forward to seeing a Tieran in your place next time I'm here."  
  
Asagi and Paul both sighed in relief once Bär had left the building, security discretely following him the entire way.  
  
"Man that old bear is something else!" the rabbit exclaimed, thumping the red-head's shoulder.  
  
"Y-yeah."  
  
"Paul?" Green eyes widened in concern as Asagi noticed the state his friend was in.  Paul was gripping the front desk in a failed attempt to stop the faint trembling of his body that was only getting worse.  
  
"I think you should sit down for a bit," the rabbit advised, taking hold of the human's shoulder.  "You're shaking like a leaf."  
  
"O-oh, I'm ah, f-fine....r-r-really!" Paul protested, wincing as he stuttered.  This wasn't the first huge, belligerent, potentially violent, non-human customer he'd dealt with, but the relief and released tension once they'd left always left him shaky.  
  
The blue rabbit frowned and was just about to forcibly drag the red-head to the employee lounge when Golden solved the problem for both of them.  Without saying a word, he scooped Paul up and carried him off through the nearest "employee-only" doors.  Paul was so shocked by the bear's action, he only managed a startled 'eep!' when he was picked up and didn't even protest being carried until they were halfway to the lounge.  
  
Already in the room, the head of housekeeping and the maid heard the bickering duo long before they entered the room.  Both ladies hiding their smiles at the sight of the owner carrying their new General Manager.  
  
Placing the now-sulking human on one of the couches, Golden poured him a glass of water and ordered him to drink.  
  
"Are you all right sir?" the maid asked after the red-head had taken a deep swig of water.  
  
Paul nodded, "I'm just a little shaky, Mitzi.  It happens sometimes after I have to deal with customers like that."  Taking note of Golden's concerned expression he added, "I know that sounds bad, but it's nothing to be worry about," he reassured the bear before returning his attention to the mouse.  "How are you feeling?"  
  
She gave him a small smile, "Kinda like you sir, a bit shaky.  I really didn't mean to mess up so badly..."  
  
He held up a hand, "We can talk about it later.  Right now, I think we both need to calm down first."  
  
Golden sat down next to Paul, ruffling his hair and getting a mild glare for his efforts.  He didn't say anything, but both he and Rolfe were impressed by how the human had handled the aggressive arctic bear.  
  
x-x-x-x-x  
  
Paul frowned as he looked over the documents in front of him; according to hotel policy when a refund is given due to a staff error, said staff receives a write up and in severe cases; a demotion.  'That seems too harsh,' he thought, thinking of how Bär had treated the girl.  However, he couldn't make his decision based on that alone.  Closing out the policy file, he pulled up the girl's employee record.  Up until now, Mitzi had maintained a spotless record going back to her hiring date.  She'd moved quickly from the cleaning teams to the independent crew and had done well ever since, receiving glowing compliments from guests on her work.  
  
Setting his tablet down he reached over and dialed up the housekeeping office. "Mrs. Blaireau?  Could you come speak with me in my office?"  
  
"I'll be right there."  
  
A few minutes later the badger woman arrived and Paul welcomed her in with a smile, "Thank you for coming."  
  
"It's no problem, sir.  What did you want to see me about?"  
  
Paul gestured for her to take a seat, "Well, I've been going over the incident and I believe I've come to a decision as to what to do.  I just wanted to ask you a couple questions before I make my final choice."  
  
Mrs. Blaireau nodded, "What would you like to know?"  
  
"I've looked over Mitzi's reviews already, but I wanted to know what you thought of her and her overall work and work ethic?"  
  
The old badger smiled, "Since she was hired, Mitzi has been a hard worker.  She's always excelled at her job and maintained a friendly, honest demeanor.  If I may be completely honest, she's my top candidate to train as a supervisor once I retire, should one of the current supervisors take my place."  
  
Paul was only mildly surprised to hear this; Mitzi's employee reviews all indicated she was potential management material.  Pleased with his decision, he decided to ask one more question before he told Mrs. Blaireau what Mitzi's discipline would be.  
  
The Tieran frowned when she saw Paul's expression grow concerned, "Mrs. Blaireau, I noticed Mitzi has been demoted to cleaning teams.  Is there another reason for this?"  
  
The badger's face brightened, "Oh it's not a demotion sir."  
  
"Really?"  
  
She nodded, "Yes, poor Mitzi was so shaken by Mr. Bär's reaction that she's afraid to clean alone right now, but still wants to work.  Her supervisor and I asked if she'd be comfortable going back to team cleaning for a while and she agreed.  She'll make less in tips, but her hourly pay will stay the same."  
  
Paul smiled, "I thought that might be the reason, but I wanted to be sure.  Now as to the final discipline..."  
  
x-x-x-x-x  
  
When Mrs. Blaireau called her into her office, Mitzi was a mess of nerves.  She knew hotel policy regarding incidents like this and was dreading the results.  After all, the General Manager was new and with his own performance being rated, would likely follow policy to the letter.  
  
"You wanted to see me, Mrs. Blaireau?"  
  
"Have a seat dear," the badger offered, waving at one of the chairs in front of her desk.  Her stomach doing flips, the mouse did so just as her supervisor walked in and took the other chair.  
  
"Sorry if I made you wait, one of the girls had a family emergency pop up."  
  
The older Tieran gave a dismissive wave of her paw, "It's all right, you're right on time anyway.  Now, let's get to why I called you both here:  As you both know, when an incident results in a full refund, the General Manager has the final say in what disciplinary actions will be taken."  She gave the young maid a gentle smile, "Mitzi, Mr. Cawthon has decided that in light of the situation, a verbal discipline will be placed in your file and no further action will be taken.  He also has no problems with you returning to your position once you're ready for it."  
  
"Thank you, ma'am!" the girl exclaimed, almost jumping for joy.  
  
"No need to thank me, Mr. Cawthon is the one who made the decision.  Now go on back to work."  
  
"Yes, ma'am!"  
  
"That's something Rolfe would do," the supervisor commented once Mitzi had left.  
  
"The boy's got a good head on his shoulders and a good heart," Mrs. Blaireau replied. "He wouldn't be here if Rolfe didn't think he'd be a good fit."  
  
x-x-x-x-x  
  
As was his usual routine when he returned from a long trade run, Foxy Renard liked to prowl the halls of the hotel while his mate Chica worked.  It kept him out of her feathers and allowed him to catch up on the new faces amongst the staff as well as any other changes that may have occurred while he was gone.  However, this time he was in search of a very specific person and the bear that was following him.  
  
Soon enough, he came across the thin-framed human conversing with one of the managers and after a brief scan of the area, found Golden lurking in the background.  Silently, he moved across the room towards the bear, being careful not to alert the human to his presence.  
  
"There something interestin' about tha lad, I should know?"  
  
"He's older than you," Golden grumbled, barely turning his head to acknowledge the fox.  
  
"My mistake, but ya still havn' answered my question."  
  
Turning away from his quarry, he scowled at his friend.  "You're not going to leave me alone until I give you an answer are you?"  
  
Foxy grinned, "Nope."  
  
The bear sighed in frustration, "Fine. I like him all right?"  
  
Foxy chuckled as the older Tieran's attention drifted back to the young man.  Chica had been right about how bad Golden had it for the human.  "I guessed as much, see'n as ya been following him around since he got here."  He laughed when the bear started blushing through his fur, "Does he know why ya be followin' im?"  
  
"Not according to most of the staff."   
  
"Has he stopped jumpin' when he sees ya?" he asked, hoping to learn something new.  
  
As if in answer, Paul finished talking with the manager and before leaving, gave the room a quick scan in case something else needed his attention.  Spotting Golden and Foxy, the red-head's tan cheeks lit in a blush as he met the bear's aqua eyes.  
  
Golden smiled, admiring the human's backside as he beat a hasty retreat, "Does that answer your question?"  
  
"Aye. That and then some," the fox chuckled again, Chica was going to be positively giddy with delight over this.  
  
x-x-x-x-x  
  
Paul groaned in pained relief as Golden kneaded the knotted cords in his neck. The slender human had spent too long poring over files and had accidentally worked through lunch.   Again.  He'd been at it for so long in fact, that when Golden had popped into his office to interrupt him, his neck and shoulders had locked mid-greeting and he'd face planted on his desk with a hiss.  The bear had immediately jumped to his aid, gently working the stiff muscles until the red-head could sit-up again.  
  
"You shouldn't do this to yourself," the bear gently admonished him.  
  
A faint blush dusted his tan cheeks, "I know.  I just get carried away and lose track of time sometimes."  
  
"Hmm," Golden leaned in close, his breath hot against Paul's ear.   "I'll just have to check on you more often then," he murmured, delighting in the human's embarrassed squeak of protest.  Continuing to work, he smiled when Paul finally relaxed, a content hum slipping from his lips unnoticed.  After a few more minutes, Golden slowed his movements and eventually stopped, allowing the human a chance to sit up. "How's it feel now?"  
  
"About a thousand times better," Paul gushed, his tan cheeks a slightly darker shade of red than before. "Thank you so much."  
  
"You're welcome Paul," he smiled, aqua eyes twinkling at the human, "and you can repay me by joining me for lunch."  
  
Paul laughed, "I don't see how that's repayment, but if that's what you want, I can certainly oblige you."  
  
x-x-x-x-x  
  
"Still in-between cases?"  
  
"Waiting on a couple of leads to come back, why?"  
  
"I received this from an "anonymous" source," Golden said, handing Spring a stack of complaints from the hotel Paul had previously worked at."And these from a man claiming to be a former co-worker," this stack was filled with glowing compliments from former co-workers and customers.  He'd come straight from his office to Spring's the moment he'd finished printing out the contents of both messages.  
  
Leafing through the sheaf of complaints, Spring raised an eyebrow, some of these were downright ridiculous.  "I'll check it out.  But from what I've seen of the guy, I'm willing to bet it's the negative ones that are phony."  
  
Golden nodded, "That's what I believe too, but I want whoever is trying to sabotage my human stopped."  
  
"Your human?"  
  
Aqua eyes narrowed as the bear scowled, "Don't even start.  You know I handed the decision over to Rolfe and the senior staff, so I can be as biased as I want."  
  
Spring laughed, "Of course I know."  His expression shifted from amused to concerned, "but it's only been two weeks since he got here and you're already verbally claiming him."  
  
Golden sat down and stared up at the ceiling, "I can't explain it...I'm just...drawn to him."  
  
Unseen by his friend, the rabbit frowned in thought.  He'd been watching Golden and Paul interact these last two weeks and while he could tell the other man was just as drawn to Golden as the bear was to him, Spring couldn't help but worry.  "You know, I did some research..."  
  
Golden snapped from his daze to face his friend, "I thought you already did a background check."  
  
"Of course I did and stop glaring at me.  I didn't research Paul, I was researching humans."  When he was sure his friend was listening he continued, "You know how rare they are and how they almost never work away from their own colonies...."  
  
"Now- I'm not saying this applies to Paul, but humans in general are nervous and fearful around other species when they aren't in their comfort zone.  Sure some of them hide it behind false bravado, but it's still there."  
  
The bear shook his head, "Either Paul is different or he's already comfortable here with us.  I've only seen him fearful once and that was after having Eis snarl in his face."  
  
Well-acquainted with the belligerent arctic bear Spring nodded, most Tierans were fearful when on the receiving end of Eis' wrath so he'd been impressed watching the human dealing with him.  "But he is a bit skittish when faced with making close acquaintances."  Asagi had told him how tense Paul had been at the beginning of their weekly outing.  
  
"What are you saying?"  
  
"Just keep going slow with him until you're courting," he warned, "You don't want to scare him off before you even ask him."  
  
x-x-x-x-x  
  
Asagi and Chica snickered as they made their way from Paul's dorm to Freddy's apartment.  The moment he'd stepped out the door, their mates had each latched onto one of the human's arms and after introducing themselves, began regaling him with wild tales of their travels.  They'd been ready to rescue the easily flustered human, but found he was so fascinated by the foxes' stories that he had already gotten comfortable in their presence.  
  
Upon reaching the apartment, Paul didn't get much of a chance to look around before Golden had approached and immediately distracted him from any other thoughts.  Not that Paul minded of course. Despite the strange butterflies fluttering in his stomach everytime he was around the bear and his frequent blushing problem, he really enjoyed spending time with the gold Tieran.  
  
"So Paul, ye any good at card games?" Foxy asked, slapping the human on the back and ignoring the mild glare he got from Golden for it.  
  
"Good enough, I suppose."  
  
"Well then, you're in fer a treat."  
  
After a few rounds of poker; in which Asagi lost miserably, Paul broke even, and Kima cleaned house, Chica suggested a different sort of game.  As she explained the rules, the human realized it was the same game he had grown up calling Pictionary.  
  
"Now, we've finally got an even number of couples so that just leaves our three single men to divide up," she said, ushering Golden and Paul to her and Foxy's side while Kingen, Asagi, Mangle, and Kima moved to the other. "So, this time Freddy and Bonnie will be on my team and Spring will be on Kingen's."  
  
As the friends got settled onto their sides of the living room, Paul slowly began to realize that Chica had included him and Golden amongst the couples. Before he had a chance to let it fully sink in and could properly freak out, Golden draped his an arm across his shoulders, disrupting his thoughts entirely.  
  
"Ready to taste defeat again, Spring?" the bear sneered at the gold rabbit.  
  
"We'll see who loses first this time," he replied, giving his friend a taunting smirk.  
  
A couple hours later, after staying neck-in-neck the entire time, the group had agreed on one last game to decide the winner....  
  
  
"We did it!" Paul cheered, jumping up and hugging Golden in his excitement.   Delighted, the bear returned the hug, unable to stop the happy growl at having his human so close.  
  
It wasn't until he settled down a bit that Paul realized he had just glomped his boss and releasing the bear, blushed clear to the roots of his hair.  Before he could stammer out an apology, Golden ruffled his hair as a distraction, chuckling as the now-annoyed human tried to finger-comb the red locks back into some semblance of order.

-

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

1 - (Toy Freddy) Kima [Japanese] bear

2 - I've done it again!  * _giggles_ *   Well, if you figured out Rolfe, then you know where Mitzi's from.


	3. Chapter 3

Title:  Service With a Smile - Welcome to the Fazbear Hotel!  
Part:  3/??  
Author:  Murasaki Rose  
Beta:  none  
Genre:  AU/Romance/Adventure/Sci-Fi  
Rating:  PG-13  
Spoilers:  None that I know  
Warnings:  Slash~i.e. male x male pairings, swearing, suggestive language and humor  
Pairings:  Golden Freddy x Phone Guy  
Minor Pairings:  Foxy x Chica, Toy Bonnie x Mangle, Toy Freddy x Toy Chica  
Disclaimer:  Here we go...Five Nights at Freddy's and all related characters are the property/creation of Scott Cawthon.   In other words, they aren't mine and I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just a fangirl having some fun.

Summary:  After being chosen as the new general manager, Paul has one month to prove he's the man for the job.  But with xenophobic customers, jealous employees, a former employer out to sabotage him, and a flirty hotel owner, does the human stand a chance, or will he be sent back home?

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Hello, hello!"

"Hello, hello Paul!  How are things going?"

"Still going great!" the red head gushed, grinning back at the holo-image of his older brother Scott.  Despite having the same parents, the two brothers looked vastly different, having nothing physically in common other than their brown eyes and nearly-identical voices.  Scott had dark brown hair and pale skin while Paul was red-headed and tan, their father had red hair and pale skin and had told the boys their "mother" was tan and dark haired.  Still, people who didn't know them assumed they were cousins or came from different surrogates.

"You're starting your third week aren't you?"

Excited, Paul gave an emphatic nod, "Yep!  The hotel's going to be hosting a big event this week-"

"Uncle Paul!" two cheerful voices interrupted, their small forms crowding in front of the holo camera.

"Hey boys!" the red head greeted, laughing as his brother pulled his sons away from the camera to sit on either side of him.

Ruffling their hair, Scott shooed them out of the room.  "Go put your school things away, then you can bug your uncle."  Grumbling, the boys complied, scampering from the room to do as they had been told.

"Feeling homesick yet?" the brunet asked once the boys had left.

His younger sibling shook his head, "and before you ask; no, I'm not feeling overwhelmed yet either."

"All right, all right." Scott chuckled and shook his head, "How about you tell me what you've been up to with your new friends then?"

Paul's face immediately brightened and he began to talk about what had happened on game night.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Well hello there."

Unprepared for the sultry tone in such an ordinary greeting, Paul froze on the spot.  He hated it when this happened, it always made him feel so awkward!  Accepting the inevitable, he turned to greet the guest and had to bite back a startled yip.  Standing uncomfortably close, a beautiful, blue-skinned humanoid was perusing his form from head to toe, her orange eyes gleaming with delight.

"Ah, hello, hello!" he greeted, taking a step back to put a respectable distance between them.  "I'm Paul Cawthon-"

"-the new General Manager," she finished, her smile widening when he blinked and made the cutest confused expression.  She stepped up close to him again, "You're the talk of the town."

Paul felt his face heat up in a blush, "I-I'm ah, not really that interesting miss."

"Oh I beg to differ," she reached up a hand, intending to brush an errant strand of hair behind his ear-

"Why Miss Erobern, how **good** to see you again."

Relief flooded through Paul like a tidal wave as Golden pulled him away from the "friendly" woman just before her hand made contact.  He could feel the tension ebbing from his frame as the warmth from Golden's seeped through and unconsciously moved closer to the taller male.

'How interesting!' Erobern thought, noticing the bear's possessive posture and the comfort the human was taking from it.  "Why hello again Mr. Fazbear.  It's a pleasure to see you again as well."  She replied, watching with amusement as Golden stepped even closer to the red-head.

Paul's tablet suddenly let out a loud beep, breaking the silent stand-off between Golden and Erobern.  Checking the message, the red-head saw it was an urgent call from the front desk.  "I'm sorry, that was the front desk, Asagi needs me as soon as possible."  He gave the woman a short bow, but Golden received a warm, apologetic smile.  "I'll ah, catch you later."

Golden nodded and smiled back, waiting until he was out of sight before turning his attention back to Erobern.

"Stay away from him," he growled, aqua eyes glaring down at the blue-skinned woman.  "He's not for you to play with."

Laughing merrily, Erobern gave him a wry smile, "All right, all right, I've learned my lesson about Tierans...I'll leave him alone."  When Golden opened his mouth to correct her, she stopped him cold with her next statement.  "Even I can tell you've claimed that lovely human as yours...and he doesn't seem to mind one bit."

Remembering what she had learned about Tieran mating practices after her disastrous attempt at seducing the bear the previous year along with what she had just witnessed between the two of them, she knew she was right even without Golden's gob smacked expression to confirm it.  Yes, the pretty human was definitely off limits to her and anyone else, but he was in good hands.  Still, she did wish she'd met the man before Golden had!  Fighting off the urge to pout, she decided it was best to divulge some advice to the bear before he decided to leave.

"If you want him, you'd better keep a close eye on him," she warned, her expression now serious.  "Someone as handsome and sweet-natured as he is will draw attention without even trying.  Coming from an endangered species you rarely see off their own territories just makes him more tempting."

Golden scowled, he was already worried about that, hearing it from someone that had just met the human only confirmed his fears.  Though trusting and a bit naive, Paul was clever and capable, unfortunately there were a lot of unscrupulous people who could and would simply overpower him to get what they wanted.

A sudden slap to the back sent him staggering, jolting him from his dark thoughts as a cheerful voice spoke.

"Good thing we've got the best security on the planet here, outside of the government of course, and our friends are keeping an eye on him when he leaves the hotel." Spring reassured them, making a point to look Golden in the eyes as he said the last part.  The last thing they needed was for the bear to go feral out of worry.

"That's good.  I'd hate to see that sweet man get taken advantage of."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

By the start of his third week, the staff had noticed something a bit unusual about their new General Manager's behavior.  The human rarely took the same path twice to go anywhere around the hotel.  Tired of hearing the staff gossip, a few of the supervisors finally asked the human about his odd behavior and were pleasantly amused by his response.  "Oh that!  Well, the hotel is so big I ah, thought it would help me in a couple of areas.  It uh, helps me learn where everything is and of course, learn a few new ways to get places.  I've even found some spots that weren't on my initial tour so.."

Then he laughed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, a wry grin on his face.  This unintentionally adorable behavior had made the older ladies coo and pat his cheeks, which of course, embarrassed the hell out of him and entertained the men until Golden materialized out of nowhere to rescue him.

Keeping with his pattern of exploration, today's route had brought him by the large pool favored by guests that brought their children.  It was a beautiful day and the poolside was busy, as quite a few families were taking advantage of the good weather.  The ambient noise was distracting, but welcome as the chatter and screams were happy ones as Paul weaved his way amongst the guests, using his lithe form to his advantage, greeting adult and child alike with a smile.  His winding path eventually taking him near the edge of the pool where the shrill of the life guard's whistle brought him to a stop.  The otter's cry of "No running!" the only warning he had before two small forms collided with him, sending them all tumbling into the pool.

Blinking against the treated water, Paul spotted two small forms floating nearby and after orienting himself, pulled all three of them to the surface just as the life guard popped up next to them.  With the otter's help, he handed the slightly dazed children up to their very grateful mother.

"You next sir."

"Thank you, I-" Paul suddenly cut himself off and groaned.  "Oh no!  My tablet's still down there!"

"If you think you can manage getting out on your own, I'll get it," the life guard offered.

"That would be great thank you."  Heaving himself out of the pool, the slim human got to his feet and began wringing the worst of the water from his shirt.

"Here you go sir."

"Thank you."  Crouching down to retrieve it, he was surprised when a warm, fluffy towel dropped around his shoulders.   Standing back up, he turned and found Golden standing behind him, a concerned look on his face.

"Are you all right?"

Paul smiled up at the bear, "I'm fine."  Using the edge of the towel, he dried the tablet off, grinning as it flickered back to life.  "And so is this!   I'll have to let the I.T. know this model worked as advertised."   Noticing Golden' confused expression, he explained.  "Rolfe asked him to find a model that could survive being submerged....something to do with an incident in the kitchen?"  He shook his head, "Anyway, this is the first one to get some on-the-job testing."

The bear chuckled, remembering what had spurred this particular request; it had happened the year before he took over as owner while he was shadowing his father.  One day Rolfe had run past them in a complete tizzy, carrying something wrapped in a bundle of kitchen towels.  They found out later that Rolfe had been bumped into by a new cook and the wolf's tablet had taken a dive straight into a boiling pot of sauce.  Despite the speed it had been fished out, the combination of liquid and heat had rendered the device useless, costing Rolfe hours of work.

His thoughts returning to the present, he smiled down at Paul.  A strand of the human's dripping wet hair was stuck to his nose, tempting Golden to brush it away.  The red-head shivered suddenly and pulled the towel closer, "I'd ah, better go get changed.  Wouldn't want to catch a cold, huh?"

Golden nodded and walked the human through the crowded pool area, doubly glad he'd picked one of the largest towels.  If asked, he'd have to admit his original motivation had been jealousy.  While the bear was admiring Paul's rear as the wet fabric from his slacks and boxers clung to his backside like a second skin, he'd realized that other people could and were seeing it too.  Without further thought, he grabbed a towel he knew would be large enough that it would cover Paul well past his butt and draped it over him as soon as he was close enough to do so.

Unable to help himself, the bear suddenly gripped the edge of the towel and pulled it over Paul's head, rubbing his hair with the soft fabric until the human managed to squirm away.  Pulling it back down, Paul glared at him but it lacked any fire and looked more like an angry pout.  "No fair," he grumbled, looking far too cute with his flushed cheeks and frazzled hair.

Golden laughed and hugged him around the shoulders with one arm.  "Sorry Paul.  I'm sure you'll get your chance to pay me back sometime."

Paul smirked up at him, surprising the bear.  "I'm sure I will."

A slow grin came over Golden's muzzle and a pleasant shiver went down his spine as he looked down at the lithe-framed man, wasn't his human just full of surprises?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Dozens of staff members were running about the huge ballroom, setting up the room for a major event the hotel was hosting that evening.  Checking in with the supervisors and making sure things were being completed on schedule, Paul had been running all over the hotel, fitting progress checks in-between his daily duties.  Pulling out his stylus to jot down a couple notes, Paul sighed when he fumbled and dropped it to his feet.  Bending at the waist to retrieve it, he'd just gotten hold of it when a large, warm palm curved around his butt sending him bolting upright with a yelp.

A myriad of thoughts whirled through Golden's head as he stared at the pert backside unexpectedly presented to his gaze once again.  'I wonder if it's as firm as it looks?' and 'Yes it is.' were the only two that registered just as Paul's startled yelp jolted him out of his daze.  Horrified, the bear knew instantly what he had done in his distraction and began to blush hard enough it could be seen through his fur.  Standing next to him, spine ramrod straight, Paul's face rivaled his hair as the two stared at the assembled staff with growing horror.  Unable to think of anything else, Golden moved his errant hand from Paul's rear to his waist before dragging the too-quiet human away from the crowd and into the nearest empty room.  Once the door closed behind them, he relinquished his hold on the red-faced human, absently noting that Paul only took a couple steps away.  Lost in their thoughts, neither man knew what to say...

His mind in turmoil, Paul struggled to figure out why Golden of all people had groped him and more importantly, why wasn't he bothered by that?

He'd recognized Golden's familiar presence so quickly it had stifled his usual response and left him with a much more confusing one that froze him in place.  Even as more and more staff turned to look at them, Paul had still felt an almost overwhelming urge to nestle into the offending hand.  If anyone else had touched him in such a personal manner, he'd have punched them in the face without hesitation, courtesy be damned.  It wouldn't be the first time he'd done so....but for some reason Golden seemed to be the exception.

In fact over the last three weeks, the bear had constantly been invading his personal space; taking every opportunity to ruffle his hair, pat him on the back, or even drape an arm around his shoulders.  It was incredibly inappropriate behavior for an owner to do with any employee, but until now, Paul had never given it a thought.  If anything, he enjoyed the bear's audacious behavior and over-protective looming, and welcomed him being so close.  Being around Golden always gave him a warm feeling and every touch sent butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

Paul's face, which had returned to its normal color, suddenly lit up again as the human came to a startling realization.

Brown eyes wide, he stared up at the embarrassed bear, his mouth dropping open in surprise...oh.  Ohhhhh...  That was why....he _liked_ him.  He liked Golden Fazbear more than as a friend.

"Paul?"  Worried that the human was getting upset again, Golden wrapped him in his arms, burying his muzzle in his vibrant locks.  "I'm sorry."   The words seemed woefully inadequate but he meant them with all his heart.  He hadn't intended to cause the man so much distress.

Trapped against Golden's warm body, Paul felt himself beginning to relax and after a moment of consideration, hesitantly wrapped his arms around the bear's waist and laid his head on his chest.  Taking a shaky breath, he murmured softly, "J-just, uh, just don't do that in public again...please?"

Golden almost sagged in relief, he hadn't ruined everything!  "I won't, I promise," he agreed just as Paul's wording sunk in.  'Did he-?'   Deciding he couldn't embarrass himself much more than he already had, he went for it.  "Does that mean I can grope you when we're alone?"

Paul made a quiet 'Eeep!' and ducked his head nervously when he realized that Golden had caught on to his Freudian slip.  His breath catching in his throat as Golden's paws slid down his back, clearly the cheeky bear had taken his silence as a yes and wanted to test his boundaries.

Gently cupping Paul's butt, Golden smiled down at the lithe human.  His cheeks had lit up again and he was gripping Golden's shirt in his fists, but he wasn't protesting.  Unable to resist, he gave the firm globes a squeeze, getting a startled squeak in response.  Feeling confident, the bear threw one more surprise at the human, "May I court you?"

Shocked brown eyes locked onto content aqua as Paul's head shot up, "Wh-what?"  Had Golden really just asked..?

"I'd like to court you," the bear repeated, a gentle smile on his face.

Paul's blush returned with a vengeance, spreading across his entire face and down his neck.  "I-I can't give you an answer now," he looked away.  "What if I have to leave?"  There was still a full week left before the final decision would be made.

Still smiling, Golden cupped Paul's chin and turned his face until their eyes met again, "Don't underestimate yourself.  Rolfe and I picked you out of all the candidates for a reason."

Reluctantly, he released the human who backed away slowly as though he didn't want to let go.  "But if you prefer, I can wait until next week for your answer."

Nodding, Paul gave a little sigh, "I-I'd uh, better get back to w-work."   Heading for the door, he turned back and gave Golden a shy smile, "I'll ah, see you later right?"

The bear smirked and winked at the red-head, "Of course."

Cheeks lighting up again, Paul nodded and smiled before darting out the door.

Chuckling, Golden headed for his office, a pleased grin on his face.  His fears at having ruined his chances now put to rest.  Paul was definitely receptive to the idea of courting.  He'd give him some time to himself and get some of his own work done as well before he returned to stalking his human.

He couldn't wait for next week.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Throwing himself back into his work, Paul managed to calm his frazzled nerves by the end of the day.

At first the occasional giggle or snicker from the younger staff members had sent him blushing and stuttering mid-sentence but the teasing quickly dropped off as the event neared.  There was too much work to do for anyone to focus on anything but their job.

All their hard work paid off as the event went without a hitch and Paul even received an unexpected compliment from their client.  He'd been holding events at the hotel for years and when commenting to one of the managers that Rolfe had done an excellent job as usual, was told that there was a new general manager.  Stunned, he'd asked to meet Paul and gave the human a hearty handshake while congratulating him on a job well done.  Paul had been quick to say that is was really due to all the hard work of the rest of the staff, which earned him a jovial slap on the back that sent him staggering.  As always, Golden was suddenly at his side, righting him with one arm while greeting their client with the other.  When he didn't remove his arm the human's shoulders, Paul had been relieved both by Golden's behavior and his own reaction; simply being near the bear still made him feel warm and calm.

By the end of the day, an exhausted but happy Paul made his way back to the employee dorms, his mind going over the events of the morning.  While Golden's bold and inappropriate action had been embarrassing to no end, he found the revelations that came with it much more astounding.  Caught up in his contemplating the possibilities of dating the Tieran, Paul didn't notice the ladies gathered in the dorm lobby until they'd surrounded him.

He let out a squawk of surprise when his arm was grabbed and he was pulled into the lounge, then pushed to sit on one of the squishy couches next to the dorm manager, Mrs. Chouette.

"Are you all right dear?" she asked, giving him a motherly pat on his knee as one of the other ladies handed him a warm cup of tea.

"I ah, yes?"  Wide brown eyes blinked in confusion as he looked at the half-dozen or so Tieran women who were all giving him concerned looks of varying degrees.  "Wh-why do you ask?"

"We were worried-"

"I mean after what Mr. Fazbear did this morning-"

"That cub, honestly.  I ought to call his mother, I know she raised him better."

"O-oh!  Oh that!" he blushed bright red and rubbed the back of his head nervously.  "I-It's ah fine, r-really!"

"Fine!" the dorm manager huffed, "Owner or not, he shouldn't be pawing you."

Paul felt himself grow impossibly redder, "Well he did uh, apologize.... a-and he asked i-if he c-could court me..."

There was a long stunned silence before the ladies exploded into a flurry of questions.

"He did?!"

"So soon?  How bold of him!"

"Did you tell him no?!"  Around them the other ladies went quiet, waiting for his answer, Paul was human after all, he might not have understood how important that question was...

The red-head shook his head.  "N-no, I ah...told him I-I couldn't give him an answer y-yet."

"Why not?" the question was curious, not accusatory, and kept him from clamming up from nerves.

"W-well, I've uh, still got a week left before I even know if I've got the job.  I-I didn't think it would be right to start a relationship when I don't even know i-if I'll be staying."

Mrs. Chouette gave him an understanding smile, one of the things she'd liked about him from the start was his humble nature, not once had he assumed the job was his just because he was doing well and his desire to do his best and encourage others to do the same came naturally, not out of any need to impress.  He'd meshed in with the staff so well that the transition from Rolfe to Paul had been almost seamless. It was strange to consider that he'd only been there for three weeks and might not get to stay with them.  Not that she or anyone else thought he wouldn't get the job.

"But if you do get to stay with us?" one of the younger ladies asked.

Paul turned red and curled up a bit before giving a quick nod, to the delight of the ladies.

"Well then, perhaps it's time we gave you a crash course in Tieran courtship," the dorm manager suggested, "unless you've done some research on your own?"

"O-oh!"  He shook his head, "N-no, I ah didn't even r-realize how I felt about Golden until this morning..."

The women oohed and giggled at his admission.

"Paul, do you know why Golden has been following you these last three weeks?"

"No," he looked thoughtful, "But now that I think about it...does it have to do with him asking to court me?"

"Yes," Mrs. Chouette replied, gently smoothing back his hair and giving the human a motherly smile when he unconsciously relaxed under the gesture.  "When a dominate Tieran spots a potential mate, they will follow them around for a certain amount of time to determine if they want to court them.  There's no set length of time for this, it can last months or be as short as a few days.  It also allows the submissive a chance to get comfortable around them."  She smiled and the other ladies giggled when Paul turned brick red and squeaked at the word "submissive" but didn't protest.  "Tierans don't court lightly.  We mate for life and are quite choosy about those we court."

Paul's brown eyes grew wide as the full implications of Golden's question hit him.  The gold bear had seen something in him, Paul didn't know what, that made him think he was mate material.  "Oh boy."

"Are you still okay with that?" one of the younger women asked.

The red head nodded rapidly, "Yes, I uh, didn't date a lot before because I-I've been looking for a long-term relationship myself."  He shook his head, "It's uh, just a bit ah, overwhelming that he wants one with me, let alone one that could potentially be for life.  I can hardly remember the last time I was asked out by someone who wanted more than a quick fling."

"Well, that's nothing you have to worry about here," Mrs. Chouette reassured the human, taking his hand and giving it a comforting squeeze.  "Now, we know you don't have a mother or sister...so we've decided to adopt you as our son."

"Or little brother!" one of the younger ladies added.

Paul blushed and gave the women a shy, happy smile.  Like most humans, he'd never had a mother or sisters...now he had an entire group of them.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Golden let out a snort as Spring let himself into his office without even knocking, the rabbit rolling his eyes in response.

"Any word back on those reviews?"

Spring nodded, his relaxed posture telling Golden what his old friend was going to say before he even spoke, "Yep.  All the positive ones are genuine."

"And the others?"

Silver eyes narrowed, "Fake as hell and the supposed "complainants" are rather pissed about someone falsifying their reviews."

Golden scowled.  "Have you figured out who's responsible?"

"I'm pretty damn sure, just need to gather a bit more evidence before I hand it over to the Intergalactic Business Bureau and let them nail his ass to the wall."   Satisfied that the guilty party would be dealt with, the friends shared a dark smile.

Chuckling now, the rabbit headed towards the door, "Good luck with Paul."  He gave his friend a devious smile, "Try not to grab his ass in front of the staff again though."

"You son-of-a-"  SLAM!  Grumbling to himself, Golden leaned back in his chair, not even bothering to wonder how his friend had heard about that incident.  "Like to see you show any better control when you find someone....and the gods be with whoever that poor sap is."

-

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o


	4. Chapter 4

Title:  Service With a Smile - Welcome to the Fazbear Hotel!  
Part:  4/??  
Author:  Murasaki Rose  
Beta:  none  
Genre:  AU/Romance/Adventure/Sci-Fi  
Rating:  PG-13  
Spoilers:  None that I know  
Warnings:  Slash~i.e. male x male pairings, swearing, suggestive language and humor  
Pairings:  Golden Freddy x Phone Guy  
Minor Pairings:  Foxy x Chica, Toy Bonnie x Mangle, Toy Freddy x Toy Chica  
Disclaimer:  Here we go...Five Nights at Freddy's and all related characters are the property/creation of Scott Cawthon.  In other words, they aren't mine and I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just a fangirl having some fun.

Summary:  After being chosen as the new general manager, Paul has one month to prove he's the man for the job.  But with xenophobic customers, jealous employees, a former employer out to sabotage him, and a flirty hotel owner, does the human stand a chance, or will he be sent back home?

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Watching from across the room, Miss Jaloux scowled as the owner doted on the human General Manager.  She'd been trying to catch the bear's attention for years and then this weak little alien shows up and steals him without even trying!  It wasn't fair!

"Disgusting isn't it?" another Tieran muttered, having come up behind her.

"Ugh, I can't stand watching them!" the female bear snarled.  "If only that little wretch wasn't here!"

"You know, he doesn't have the position yet," the other Tieran had a sly smile on her face, "...and I know a few others who would be willing to help."

Jaloux smirked, "See if they can meet with us later to plan."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Focused on his paperwork, Paul nearly leapt out of his skin when he was interrupted by a loud thump from the hall.  Looking at his door he watched with mild irritation as the woman assigned to clean his office entered the room and started to work without so much as a word to him.

"Miss Trotzig, you're uh, cleaning my office rather early..." Paul commented.  None of the management offices were supposed to be cleaned before six and it was only two in the afternoon.

"All the other offices I clean were empty, so I decided to get them done early since they're right here," she replied flippantly, not even bothering to face him as she spoke.

"I see.  Well, unless Mrs. Blaireau authorizes a change, I expect you to show up at your normal time to clean my office and the others from now on, okay?"

Receiving no acknowledgement from the woman other than a shrug, Paul made a note to check-in with Mrs. Blaireau later.

 

    The next day, just as Paul feared would happen, the cleaning woman came barging into his office just after two.

"Miss Trotzig."

The flat, almost commanding tone startled the Tieran enough she turned to face him and nearly quailed at the sight.  The human's usual friendly and open expression had been replaced by a stern and closed one.  In that instant, she remembered that human or not, he was the General Manager and her boss.

"Miss Trotzig, yesterday I told you that you were to show up at your normal time, unless Mrs. Blaireau authorized a change."

She nodded, even though he hadn't asked a question.

"I spoke with Mrs. Blaireau yesterday and she assured me that any change in the cleaning schedule, no matter how minor, must be approved by her or a housekeeping supervisor first.  No exceptions."

Trotzig swallowed hard.

"She also mentioned that this was not the first time you have attempted to change your schedule without authorization...."  He sighed softly and picked up a sheet of paper from his desk before walking over to her.  "Given that, along with your past performance record, this will be the second write up for your employee file."   Handing over the paper copy, he returned to his desk, "You are to report to Mrs. Blaireau for your re-assignment immediately."

Nodding again, the maid hurriedly grabbed her cart and left.

 

    A few hours later Golden arrived outside Paul's office ready to follow his human through the evening building walk.  To the bear's concern, his brown eyes seemed a bit dimmer than usual.

"Rough day?"

The red head smiled and shook his head, "Um, just had to deal with the more unpleasant side of the job, that's all.  Nothing I can't handle."

Golden frowned, "If you're sure..."

"Yes, I'm sure.  If I couldn't deal with days like this, then I'd have never made it this far you know."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Spring frowned as the guard made his report.  This was bad.  "Are you sure these are the ones you overheard?"

The dog nodded, "No doubt in my mind sir."

Steepling his fingers, Spring's brow furrowed as he thought over the best approach.  On the one hand, they hadn't done anything yet and he doubted a warning would discourage them, on the other hand if Golden caught wind of their schemes....

"All right, here's what we're going to do...we'll pass this information on to every member of security as well as the senior staff members-"

"Even Mr. Fazbear and Mr. Cawthon?"

"No.  It's Paul's last trial week and I don't want to add on to his stress."  Spring shook his head, "and if Golden finds out all hell will break loose."

"Sir?"

"He's been verbally claiming Paul for the last couple weeks and I've already seen signs of him going feral at just the thought of Paul in danger."  Silver eyes locked onto the guard, "Can you imagine his reaction should he find out someone is actively trying to sabotage his human?"

The guard felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought.  He'd witnessed other Tierans going feral, but none as powerful as Golden Fazbear.  All hell indeed.

"How will we keep them from finding out?"

The gold rabbit smirked, "Simple, by stopping the trouble before it starts."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

If he wasn't a patient bear by nature, Golden might have thrown something out a window.

He'd been aware for some time that there were several employees interested in him, it'd been that way since he'd come of age several years ago.  The bolder ones would drop subtle hints or flirt in an attempt to catch his attention but never anything untoward or unprofessional enough to warrant any action.  Unfortunately a female bear had decided to throw subtlety to the wind and was now blatantly flirting.

His father had warned him there'd be days like this.

By lunchtime his frustration was at an all-time high, the woman wouldn't leave him alone!  He hadn't realized just how agitated he'd become until he stepped into Paul's office.

"Golden!  What's wrong?"

The bear blinked in surprise as the human ran to his side, cautiously placing a hand on Golden's forearm.  "I look that bad?"

Paul shook his head, "Not to anyone that doesn't uh, know you very well.  Your posture was too stiff and you're, um-" he waved his other hand in a circular motion, "-closed off."

"Closed off?"

The human nodded, "It's hard to explaiiiaaan!" he yelped as Golden abruptly pulled him to his chest, holding him tight around the waist and burying his nose in his soft red hair.  Hugging the bear in return, Paul enjoyed the embrace, happy that apparently he could help calm Golden just as the bear could calm him.  "You uh, wanna talk about it?"

Heaving a sigh, Golden let go of Paul and plopped down onto the couch on far side of the office.  Sitting next to him Paul listened patiently as the bear relayed the series of events that had gotten him so worked up.  Seeing that Golden had tensed up again just thinking about it, the red-head decided to try something a little different to help.

Scooting over to the far end of the couch, he hid a smile when Golden pouted.  "Lay your head down," he said patting his lap.

"Dare I ask why?" Golden asked, grinning at the human.

"I um, want to try something."  A soft blush dusted his cheeks as he reached forward to card his fingers through the thick fur on Golden's scalp.  When the bear nudged his head against Paul's hand, he took the hint and began to lightly scratch his scalp in circular motions.

Golden melted instantly, aqua eyes sliding closed as he let out a content murr.  Peering through half-lidded eyes, the sight of Paul's deep blushing cheeks brought a lazy smile to his muzzle.  They'd definitely have to do this again.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"No way!"

"Well, that's what I heard."

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Mitzi walked over to the younger maids she was cleaning with.  She'd forgotten how gossipy the newer employees were.   "What's got you girls so excited?"

"One of the waiters said that they heard from one of the bell hops that they saw Mr. Cawthon hanging around another Tieran."

"Someone that doesn't work here at the hotel!" the other girl exclaimed in a hushed voice.

Raising an eyebrow, Mitzi gave them a skeptical look, "Which bell hop saw that?   And what's the other Tieran look like?"

"Well, they didn't say..."

The older maid stifled a sigh, "Does this mystery bell hop even have a name?  And if they really saw that, then why don't they have a good description of the other guy?" she crossed her arms and huffed.  "Anyone with eyes knows that when he's not working Mr. Cawthon's always with Mr. Fazbear or one of their friends."

"So you're saying it's not true?"

Mitzi nodded firmly, "Absolutely.  And if you hear any more of that nonsense from anyone else, you'd best tell them to stop spreading rumors."

"Will we get in trouble?"

"Not if you stop now.  Can you imagine how angry Mr. Fazbear would be if he heard you?"

Both girls flinched at that.  It hadn't occurred to them that the boss might overhear them.

"Now, let's get back to work...and no more gossiping!"

Satisfied that the younger maids would behave, at least for now, Mitzi dropped the subject and made a mental note to speak with Mrs. Blaireau later.  She knew the rumor was utter nonsense but didn't want Mr. Cawthon or Mr. Fazbear hurt.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Thanks to the combined efforts of the senior staff and security working behind the scenes, most of the incidents were dealt with before anything really got started.  A few of the rumors did work their way back to Golden and Paul, but were dispelled so quickly neither gave them much thought.  Sadly, despite the success at stopping would-be saboteurs and troublemakers, there was one person no one had been able to reign in and it was on the last day of Paul's trial run that everything came to a head.

There was another large event scheduled at the end of the following month, one that both owner and general manager would attend, and they were having the first of many meetings with the hotel's event manager and planners, Jaloux being one of them.

From the moment Golden entered the room, Jaloux hadn't left his side, even going so far as to keep herself physically in-between the gold bear and Paul at all times.  After dealing with her forward behavior all week, Golden was already on edge and was finding it difficult to keep a grip on his rapidly fraying control.  By keeping his focus on the event manager and Paul, he'd been able to put up a calm front, but he was losing the battle.  Finally he'd had enough and just as he was about to call for a break-

She touched him.

Paul inhaled sharply, struggling to maintain a neutral expression as he saw Jaloux run her paw down Golden's arm.  He hadn't been prepared for the sharp pang of possessive anger that had lanced through his stomach and was having difficulty keeping himself from snapping at her like a jealous teenager.

"Jaloux!" the event manager shouted, paging the personnel manager with his tablet as he stormed over.  In all the years he'd been working, he'd never had an employee over-step their boundaries so blatantly.

That flash of hurt in Paul's eyes was all it took to snap the fragile thread holding Golden's temper at bay.  "Enough!" the bear snarled, freezing everyone in place.  When the female bear didn't back away he bared his teeth, a menacing growl rumbling in his throat as he stared her down.

Eyes wide with fear Jaloux cowered submissively and cast her eyes to the ground, hoping she had not just seen what she thought she had.  Golden snarled again and she curled up, praying for someone, anyone to help.  That slim ring of black she'd seen around the other bear's iris had not been her imagination, in her arrogance she'd pushed her boss dangerously close to going feral.

"Golden, please!  You need to calm down!"

Worried he might actually attack the other Tieran, Paul lightly placed a hand on Golden's bicep.  When the bear didn't tense from his touch, the human slid his hand down to Golden's forearm, applying only the barest amount of pressure as he moved.  After a long tense moment, Golden turned his attention from Jaloux to Paul, the black rings gone before the red-head ever saw them.  Forcing down his nerves, the human moved his hand again, this time to the back of Golden's paw.  This got a smile from Golden, which made Paul let out a relieved laugh.  That had been close.

Peeking up at the pair, Jaloux watched as Golden scooped up the human and carried him off, the red-head protesting that they had work to do.

"You realize you probably owe Mr. Cawthon your life?"

Jaloux jumped and spun around to see the personnel manager, Kima Fazbear giving her a stern glare.  She gave a shaky nod, nearly leaping out of her skin when one of the security guards took hold of her arm.

"We'll discuss this in my office."  Kima turned on his heel, the guard following with Jaloux in tow.  Unseen by either party, he allowed his stern expression to melt into one of relief.  He was more grateful than ever that some of the ladies had been teaching Paul about courting Tierans or the whole situation could have ended tragically.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sitting on the couch in his dorm room, Paul was attempting to distract himself with a book.  It was too early in the day to call his brother and he had little else to do the next couple days except worry and second-guess his performance while Rolfe and the senior staff decided if he was going to stay.

He was fortunate that the previous night he'd been so exhausted that he'd fallen asleep the moment his head touched the pillows but now-

A short burst of knocks at this door broke his train of thought.  Curiously, he got up and opened the door to the unexpected, but welcome sight of the Renard twins.

Foxy clapped Paul's shoulder, "So lad, Mangle n' I heard that ye need yerself a distraction."

"I wouldn't say I need one, but it uh, certainly couldn't hurt," the red-head replied, giving the foxes a weak smile.

"Well then, we've got just the thing in mind," Mangle grinned, her artificial eye flashing briefly in her excitement.

Paul yelped as the red fox suddenly tossed him over one shoulder, "W-w-wait Foxy! I-I can walk you know!"

"But you can't run like we can," Mangle replied as the twins raced out of the dorms and into the hotel, the white fox blowing her mate a kiss while Foxy gave Golden a roguish grin when they ran by them in the hotel's main lobby.

 

    Golden blinked a couple times as his mind processed the bizarre scene he'd just witnessed.

"I'm sorry Asagi."

"What for?"

"If you would be so kind, pass my apologies on to Chica as well."

The blue rabbit struggled not to roll his eyes, that wasn't an answer.  "Why are you apologizing?!" he yelled after Golden, who'd already started running after the foxes.

"I'm going to kill your mates!" he called back before disappearing out the door.

Asagi chuckled, he didn't know what was going to happen when they'd asked Mangle and Foxy to distract Paul for the weekend, but it was clear that whatever crazy idea the twins had come up with, at least Paul (and Golden) wouldn't be bored.

 

    "Hahahahaha!"  Laughing like he was, Foxy sounded more like a pirate than freighter captain, as he drove away from the hotel at top speed.  He wanted to lose Golden before Paul noticed him chasing after them.  Having left the top open on their vehicle, he'd tossed Paul inside then he and Mangle jumped in on either side of him.  The confused human had barely righted himself before the fox had taken off.

"Whoa!  Foxy slow down!" Paul yelled, worried the red fox would crash in his enthusiasm.

Mangle hugged his shoulders with one arm and laughed, "It's all right Paul, Foxy knows what he's doing."

"Aye lad, drivin' this is child's play compared ta our ship!"

Seeing that Foxy did indeed have full control of the vehicle, Paul started to relax when a worrisome thought occurred to him, "Oh!  Did someone tell Golden what we were doing?"  He didn't want the bear to worry...

"Don't ya worry lad, we made sure he knows yer wit' us."

 

    After a tour of the foxes' main freighter and the shipyard, the twins took Paul to a diner deep in the heart of Luonto spaceport where the pilots and crew stopped in-between runs.  In the dim lighting of the setting sun, the place had a seedy look about it and the thin-framed human felt a faint thrum of unease.  This wasn't like any place he'd ever been, even back on the colony.

Catching the slight stiffening of Paul's posture, Foxy leaned into the human's field of view, the glow from his artificial eye quite visible in the low light, snaring the human's full attention.  "It's a sight better in daylight an' even moreso inside."

On his other side, Mangle gave him a playful nudge forward, "Trust us."

With a rueful smile, Paul relaxed and followed them inside, of course they wouldn't take him anywhere dangerous.  As promised, inside the diner was bright and warm, the delicious aromas of all sorts of foods, the patrons' conversations, and the sound of a busy kitchen came together to create a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.

"They make some o' tha best food you'll ever try," Foxy said as they were seated at a well-worn but clean and sturdy table.  "Next 'ta Chica an' Kingen's o'course."

 

    Instead of returning to the hotel that night, they stayed in a much smaller hotel close by and snagged breakfast from street vendors on their way.  Originally, the twins had planned on taking Paul to another diner frequented by their crew, but Foxy had spotted Golden in the distance and knew they had to move fast.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind for the human.  Foxy and Mangle seemed to know someone everywhere they went and had all sorts of interesting stories to tell about their childhood adventures.  He was treated to incredible views that most people would never know existed, mostly due to the crazy paths you had to take to get to them, and learned so much more about the native Tierans that inhabited this world.  It was so much fun and something he would never forget, but as happy as he was, the whole time he felt like something was missing.

 

    "Paul!"

The human barely had time to register who had called his name before he was enveloped in a fierce hug.

"Golden?"  Pressed tightly to the bear's chest, Paul could feel a faint tremor in the bear's frame, "Wh-what's wrong?"

"I couldn't find you."

The miserable tone in his voice broke Paul's heart and he hugged Golden back just as tight, "I'm so sorry!  I-I thought you knew!"

"He knew I took ya lad, but he din' know where we were goin' or fer how long," Foxy said, making sure they both knew he was to blame.  He knew Golden and Paul had grown close, but he hadn't realized they were so connected.  They weren't even courting yet!

Mangle gently tugged her twin away, "we'll just leave you two alone."

Not satisfied with simply holding the man, Golden buried his nose in the crook of Paul's shoulder, taking deep breaths of his human's scent.  Paul squeaked and squirmed in his arms as the sensitive skin was breathed on, but found himself doing the same against Golden's chest, the feeling of missing something now gone.

After a few moments Golden lifted his head and when Paul did the same, he placed one paw on the human's face, running a thumb across his cheekbone.  Knowing how worried the bear must have been, the relieved smile on his muzzle was both heart-warming and heart-breaking to the red-head.

Soulful brown eyes gazed up at the bear as he held Golden's paw to his face. "W-were you um, really looking for me all weekend?"

Golden nodded, squeezing his waist with his other arm.  Paul blushed and looked away, "I-I'm uh, sorry for causing you so much trouble."

Securing his grip around the human's waist with one paw and tilting his chin up with the other, Golden smiled down at him.  "Don't be.  It wasn't your fault."

Paul's face darkened to match his hair, "Still, I should have known something was up when they uh, ran off with me."

"I doubt it would have stopped them," Golden replied.  Having grown up with them, he knew firsthand the Renard twins had always been a bit wild and impulsive.   "Well, since we're already out, how about we have some dinner before we head home."  The bear swore his heart skipped a beat when his human smiled up at him.

"That sounds wonderful."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The next morning when Golden came to get Paul for his meeting with Rolfe, the human had expected them to go to one of the offices or even a conference room.  He never imagined the bear would take him to the very room where he'd been introduced to most of the staff.  Opening the door with one paw, Golden smiled as Paul's confused expression shifted to one of surprise; just as before, the room was filled to capacity with the majority of the hotel's staff waiting inside, the managers sitting in the front row while Rolfe stood on the stage at the head of the room.

"Wh-what?"

Golden placed a paw on the back of the now shell-shocked human and gently pushed him inside.

Watching the young men, Rolfe smiled as the flustered human let himself be led up on stage, the poor boy clearly hadn't expected this.

"Now I know you're a bit bewildered Paul and let me assure you this is not how we usually do things-" he chuckled softly, "-but we've never been in a situation like this before either."  Before Paul could wonder what the old wolf meant, Golden rested an arm across his shoulders.  Oh, that situation.

"I have to say, watching you these last four weeks have been some of the most entertaining days I've had in some time.  I'll admit at first I did have some misgivings, I've seen many an alien come to work here over the years, but I've never seen one fit in as naturally as you have."

A soft red dusted his cheeks as the human ever-so-slightly ducked his head.  He hadn't done anything really, he was just comfortable here.

"Keeping that in mind, along with your remarkable performance, and the stellar reviews from the senior staff... I'm pleased to be the first to congratulate you.  I know I'm leaving my position in good hands."

Paul's eyes sparkled in delight as he shook the old wolf's paw, his smile growing with every second.  He'd done it!

"Good luck handling that lovesick cub," Rolfe murmured just before the crowd burst into applause.

The wolf backed up as the applause died down and Golden moved from Paul's side to stand in front of him.  A few delighted squeals coming from the audience as the bear slid his paw down the red-head's arm until he was gripping the human's hand.

'He isn't-' Paul thought, then seeing the mischievous smile on Golden's muzzle, 'he is!'

"Paul, now that we all know you're going to be staying with us, I think this would be a good time for you to answer that question I asked last week."

"You're d-doing this now?!  I-In front of everyone?!" the human hissed, glancing sideways at the crowd of employees in the room.

"Everyone who works here knows this was bound to happen eventually," the bear countered.  "Letting most of them find out now will prevent rumors from cropping up."

Well, he couldn't fault that logic.  Paul shook his head and gave the bear a wry smile, "Dating you is going to be very uh...interesting."

Recognizing the word "dating" as the human term for courting, Golden grinned like an idiot and drew a laughing Paul into an embrace.  Pulling back, he bent down and gave the red-head a kiss on the cheek, watching in delight as an adorable blush spread across the bridge of Paul's nose.

Having forgotten about their audience, Paul placed his hands on Golden's chest for balance, then pushing up on his toes to reach, he returned the gesture.  The sudden burst of applause and whistling from the watching staff startled them both out of their little bubble, Golden staring at them wide-eyed while Paul whined in embarrassment and buried his face in the bear's chest.

"C'mon lovely, you can't hide from them forever," Golden crooned, slowly coaxing the human into facing the crowd.

With a final, near-silent whine of defeat, a red-faced Paul looked out at the mass of approving smiles and as Golden's arm settled around his waist, he couldn't help but feel like he was finally home.

-

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

March 12, 2016

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The story's not over yet!


	5. Chapter 5

* _waves_ *  Sorry about the late update, but this chapter did not want to be written.  I swear it fought me at every turn!  * _growls_ *  However the end result, while a little shorter than previous chapters, is something I'm happy with.  Enjoy!

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Title:  Service With a Smile - Welcome to the Fazbear Hotel!  
Part:  5/??  
Author:  Murasaki Rose  
Beta:  none  
Genre:  AU/Romance/Adventure/Sci-Fi  
Rating:  PG-13  
Spoilers:  None that I know  
Warnings:  Slash~i.e. male x male pairings, swearing, suggestive language and humor  
Pairings:  Golden Freddy x Phone Guy  
Minor Pairings:  Foxy x Chica, Toy Bonnie x Mangle, Toy Freddy x Toy Chica  
Disclaimer:  Here we go...Five Nights at Freddy's and all related characters are the property/creation of Scott Cawthon.   In other words, they aren't mine and I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just a fangirl having some fun.

Summary:  After being picked as the new general manager, Paul has one month to prove he's the man for the job.  But with xenophobic customers, jealous employees, a former employer out to sabotage him, and a flirty hotel owner, does the human stand a chance, or will he be sent back home?

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Ah, Mr. Cawthon, just the man I wanted to see," a voice called out as Paul walked by Golden's office. 

"Hello, hello doctor!" the human replied in greeting, a faint blush dusting his cheeks when Golden waved at him from behind the hotel physician.  "What can I do for you?" he asked, entering the room and walking over to stand at Golden's side.

The older Tieran gave him a friendly smile, "Well young man, since you are now a permanent member of the staff, I've been brushing up on my human biology.  That was when I realized that there was an unintentional omission from your records."

"Omission?" Paul and Golden asked in unison.

"Yes.  It's nothing serious and the fault lies in our medical form."  A small frown formed on his muzzle, "However, I'm not sure how sensitive humans are about this, so if you prefer I can ask you in private....I wouldn't ask at all, but I do need this information in case of a serious injury."

Paul smiled and shook his head, "My health record is clean, so uh, anything you want to know, you can ah, just ask me now."

"All right then.  What I need to know is whether or not you have had the bearer surgery."

Golden's eyebrows lifted in surprise as Paul's face turned red, his brown eyes going wide before he answered.

"Oh!  W-well, I ah-no.  No, I h-haven't had the surgery.  The results were t-too finicky when I was the r-right age, s-so my dad didn't uh, didn't want to risk it."

"All right, I'll get this into your records then."  Knowing the human was in good hands, the doctor decided it would be best not to call attention to Paul's obvious discomfort and left the office.

Alone now, Golden noticed how quiet and withdrawn his human had become.  His head was downcast and he seemed lost in his thoughts, a heavy, melancholy air hanging about him.  Sensing Paul's need to talk, Golden got up and closed the door to his office; something told him this was best talked about in private.  Sitting on the edge of his desk and placing a paw on Paul's shoulder, the bear waited patiently until his human lifted his head.  He wasn't surprised to see the red-head's dark eyes glimmering with unshed tears.

Taking a shuddery breath, Paul finally began to talk.  "D-do you uh, remember when I m-mentioned my brother standing up for me?"

Golden nodded, he wondered when his human would want to talk about that. (1)

"W-well you see uh...even though our dad d-didn't want to put us th-through the s-s-surgery, he always expected us t-to have kids.  A-after a few bad r-relationships, m-my brother decided to go ahead and raise kids b-by himself.  So he f-found a surrogate before I w-was out of h-high school.  Then three years l-later he h-had a second one with the same surrogate."

"How old was he?" brow furrowed in concern, the bear gently rubbed Paul's back.

"S-same age I-I am now...that's p-probably why...no.  That _**is**_ why Dad started p-pressuring me to find a surrogate."  Paul frowned, "B-but I hadn't d-dated much at all and I d-didn't...I didn't w-want to raise k-kids on my own."   A stray tear escaped, hastily wiped away by the frustrated human.  "I-I love kids, but w-with this kind of job I c-couldn't do it on my own!  I-I mean m-maybe here I could, b-but back on the colony..?"  He shook his head, "I-I didn't even have time t-to date, how could I raise a child?  I-I'd never be there for them!"  His fists clenched, "I-I tried to explain that to my father, but he wouldn't listen!  He just kept going on about doing my duty for humanity, l-like I hadn't said a word!"  The red-head visibly deflated, "I finally yelled that I refused to have a child with someone I didn't even know."  The tears that had been shimmering in his eyes began rolling down his face unchecked, "Th-that was when he said-" Paul's breath hitched, "he said...that i-if he had known I-I was g-going to be like this, he'd have......had me go through the bearer operation," he finished, choking back a sob.  "That w-was when S-Scott jumped in.  He told Dad he was out of line, but Dad was so worked up, he wouldn't listen to him either.  They started arguing and just got louder and angrier until Dad stormed off."  Paul took another shuddery breath, "That was m-months ago and I uh...I haven't...spoken with him since.  I've left messages, trying to get in contact with him, but he hasn't replied to any of them.  I-I-I d-don't even think he knows I-I'm not on the c-colony anymore!"  His explanation done, Paul crumpled into the strong arms that caught him, tears streaming unfettered down his face.

Scooping Paul up in a bridal carry, Golden carried him to one of the couches in his office and sat down.  Looking down into his human's surprised and tear-stained face, the bear didn't know what to say.  What could he say?  He knew that the human species had been fighting a dwindling population since the destruction of their home planet, but that they would pressure their people to the state that parents would shun their children for not wanting to have one with a stranger....

Pushing those thoughts aside, he leaned back with his human still cradled in his arms and pressed a gentle kiss to Paul's forehead.  Relaxing into the embrace, Paul felt a few stray tears roll down his face as he soaked in the comfort his boyfriend was providing.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

One of the additional perks to living in the dorms at the Fazbear Hotel were 2 hours a week for long-distance phone calls.  Having few people back on the colony he was close enough to stay in contact with, Paul spent most of his time talking with his older brother.  The two were deep into their weekly talk when a knock came at Paul's door; the younger sibling going to answer after apologetically asking his brother to wait a moment.

Though he couldn't quite make out the words, Scott could hear the joy in his brother's voice at his surprise visitor who spoke in a deep, soothing tone.  Moments later, Paul popped back into view, a shy smile now on his face.  "Ah Scott?  I've uh, got someone I'd like you to meet."  Tugging on the hand he was holding off screen, Paul sat on the far side of the couch leaving room for a large, gold-furred bear Tieran to sit next to him.

Much to the red head's delight, his brother and boyfriend got along wonderfully, which had never occurred with the few boyfriend's he'd had in the past.  Somehow though, their conversation took an odd turn and Paul wasn't quite sure how the topic even came up, much less begin to fathom why Golden was so interested when his brother mentioned it.

"You have a picture of him in a skirt?"  Aqua eyes lit when the brunet nodded, "How long is it?"

"Above the knee," Scott answered, laughing when his little brother moaned in embarrassment while Golden's ears perked.

"Scott why?!"  Grabbing one of the throw pillows, Paul covered his face and considered smothering himself with it.

"Paul are you all right?" Golden asked, gently rubbing the red-head's back.  Receiving no reply, he frowned and easily lifted his human up onto his lap with his legs on either sides of the bear's hips.  Nuzzling his head, Golden tugged the pillow out of Paul's hands and brought their foreheads together.  "If it bothers you so much, I'll stop asking about the picture," he promised, kissing his human's temple. 

Sitting back, Paul shook his head, "Oh, n-no.  It's not that.  It's just-it's a silly picture from a drama production back in high school.  Y-you can see it if you want."

Hugging his human around the waist, Golden chuckled, "Tell you what; I'll show you one of my old school pictures in exchange."  He rubbed his nose against Paul's, "and to be totally fair, I'll let Freddy and Kima pick which one."

Brown eyes twinkling in delight, Paul leaned forward and kissed Golden's cheek.  "It's a deal."

"I still don't understand why you want to see it so badly."

"Because you're wearing a skirt," Golden answered as if it was obvious.

"What does a skirt have to do with anything?"

Golden coughed and muttered that he'd explain later.

Trying not to laugh at them both, Scott decided to fill his brother in...at least partially.  "He wants to see your legs Paul."

"Scott!" Paul whined, covering his face with his hands and attempting to fall off Golden's lap to one side.  Holding his human close, Golden nuzzled Paul's hair in an attempt to hide his own blush that threatened to show through his fur.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

With the hotel's prestigious standing and stellar reputation, Paul had quickly learned that he was a great point of interest to those who held long-time connections to the hotel.  Because of this, he'd grown accustomed to occasionally being pulled from his routine to meet with various patrons and business associates.

"I'm impressed that you were able to meet Rolfe's standards so well.  He holds this place and this position in high regard.  I didn't think he'd find anyone that he fully trusted to take over."

"Thank you Mr. Ursa," Paul replied, a hint of red dusting his cheeks.  He still wasn't used to getting so many sincere, glowing compliments. 

Ursa chuckled as Golden wrapped an arm around the almost bashful human.  After hearing stories from Golden's father, he'd wanted to meet the young man himself and see if the rumors were true.  A quick change to his trip itinerary was all it took to give himself and his son a chance to visit and see things for themselves.  Unfortunately, his son wasn't making a good impression as he chose to pretend Paul didn't exist while trying and failing to catch Golden's eye, despite the other bear stating upfront that he and the human were courting.

Paul's tablet suddenly chimed as a reminder went off.  "Oh!  I'm sorry but I'm afraid I have to go.  I've got a meeting with some of the managers to get to."

"That's quite all right young man."

Having caught on to the young bear's intentions right away and fed up with this sort of behavior from people in general, Paul decided it was time he started following in his boyfriend's footsteps and show others that Golden was his.  Placing a hand on Golden's shoulder for balance, he lifted up on his toes and pressed a kiss to the bear's cheek, "I'll see you later."

Golden nodded, a silly grin forming as he put a paw over where Paul's lips had touched.  That was the first time his human had kissed him first in public.

The older Tieran chuckled at the cub's expression, "Your father had that same look on his muzzle the first time your mother did that to him."

If anything Golden's grin grew brighter and he breathed a happy sigh as he watched the red head until he was out of sight.  "He's something special isn't he?"

"He's human," Ursa's son grumped, earning himself a dark glare from Golden.

"And he's mine."

The youth's next comment was cut off by a yelp as his father smacked the back of his head.

"I'm sorry Golden, it seems my son still has some lessons to learn in manners."

Tension gone, the gold bear made an exasperated sigh, "he's not the only one."

"Ah yes, your father mentioned that incident a few weeks ago."  He laughed as the younger bear groaned in disgust.

"Please don't remind me," he frowned and shook his head.  "At least we learned that Paul can calm me down before I go feral."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Paul nearly dropped his tablet to the floor when the urgent message alarm went off.  Recovering from his fumble, he swore his heart stopped as he read the message from security:

[["Paul!  You need to hurry!  There's a guest making advances on Golden!]]

Taking every shortcut he knew, the human raced for the main ballroom, dodging staff and guests alike, all while hoping and praying he wouldn't be too late.  He was running so fast, his momentum took him past the doorway and he came to a graceless stop a few feet beyond the entryway.  Spinning on his heel, he back-tracked into the ballroom at a slightly slower pace to give his racing heart a chance to slow down while he assessed the situation.

The scene that greeted him left the human debating whether he should be amused or annoyed.

Amusement won out as he watched his seven-foot-plus boyfriend awkwardly try to fend off a couple of tiny, flirtatious elderly ladies.  Nearby the event manager was attempting to deter the ladies but wasn't having much luck as he was also trying not to laugh at his boss' plight.

Stifling a grin, Paul approached the group with a pleasant smile, "Hello, hello!"

"Ah, Mr. Cawthon!" the event manager called out, drawing the ladies attention away from Golden, giving the bear a chance to dart behind Paul.  "Miss Ligar, Miss Daora, this is our General Manager."

"Pleased to meet you," Ligar greeted, eyeing the human from head to toe.

"Now aren't you just the cutest thing?" Daora cooed, fluttering her eyelashes.

Afraid for Paul's safety, Golden instantly recovered his composure and wrapping an arm around the human's waist, pulled him back to rest against his chest.  Used to this behavior, Paul subconsciously relaxed against the bear and placed a reassuring hand on top of Golden's paw.

Ligar's eyes widened, "Ohhh, I see."  Leaning over, she "whispered" to her friend, "No wonder the boy wasn't interested...he's got a lovely mate already!"  Honestly, that was one of the cutest things she'd seen in some time.

Both men blushed brightly, sending the elderly women into a fit of giggles.

Waving a hand in their direction, Ligar drew Daora away, a knowing smile on her face, "Well then, I think we'll let you boys go about your day.  Mr. Serata can take care of us from here."

"It was wonderful meeting you!"

With that, they each took one of the event manager's arms and walked away, Golden slumping in relief as they left the room.  His arm still around Paul, he let the other join it as he buried his face in his human's hair.  That had been freaky.

Leaning back against the bear, Paul sighed and sagged a little as the adrenaline finally wore off.

"You all right?" Golden asked, lifting his head to nuzzle the human's cheek.

"Just a little tired," brown eyes glanced sideways at the bear.  "I ah, ran here from the laundry room."

"That's on the other side of the hotel!" Golden was impressed, his human must have broken some speed records with how fast he had arrived.

"Oh, well I was a little ah, motivated," he held his tablet up to show the bear, "I received this message from security and after last month I was a bit concerned, you know."

Reading the message, Golden felt a twinge of annoyance that security had scared Paul so badly, but it was easily over-shadowed by the warmth he felt knowing how much his human cared.  Scooping the red head up into his arms, Golden brought their faces nose-to nose to kill any protests he might make and grinned at the blush that bloomed over Paul's cheeks.

"Since I'm sure you've worn yourself out running, I think we should take an early lunch and let you recover."

Checking his watch Paul noted it wasn't too early for lunch and nodded his consent.  His legs were starting to feel like noodles anyway.  "I uh, don't suppose you'd be willing to put me down would you?"

"Not a chance," the bear replied, his low chuckle morphing into a deep, hearty laugh as Paul collapsed against his chest with a resigned sigh.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"You need to work out a code," Golden growled as he let himself into Spring's office, later that day.

The gold rabbit rolled his eyes, "he's fine, but I'll work on something, alright?"  He smirked, "can't keep sending our general manager into a panic every time you get cornered by little old ladies."

The bear scowled and punched Spring's arm, "Knock it off."

"You should have seen him running though.  He might actually be able to keep up with Foxy and Mangle."

"Really?"

Spring smirked, "Wanna see?  I've got his whole run queued."

Pulling a chair around to sit next to his friend, Golden raised an eyebrow, "You have to ask?"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Paul laughed as Golden recounted one of the sillier scenes from the movie they'd just watched.  It was supposed to be a serious action movie, but the corny lines and poor acting had the pair in stitches.  Fortunately, the theatre had been largely empty or they might have been thrown out for causing a disturbance.  As it was, the duo managed to keep their chuckles and guffaws down to a "mostly" polite level.

Reaching the employee housing, they lowered their voices as Golden walked Paul to his dorm.  At the door, Paul sighed and leaned into Golden, not ready to leave the other's company just yet.  Sensing his conflict as it mirrored his own, Golden turned him around and held him close.  Returning the hug, the human sighed in content, resting his head on the bear's chest until the familiar sensation of being watched caused him to lift his head.  Warm brown met with intense aqua as Golden gazed down at him, a determined glint in his eyes.

"Golden?"

Giving him a small smile, the bear cupped his chin and leaned in close, "I'm going to kiss you."

Heart hammering in his chest, Paul tilted his head in invitation, "O-okay."

Leaning in slowly until their lips brushed, Golden paused for perhaps a millisecond before closing the gap.  It was a little awkward at first; Golden having never kissed anyone in this manner and Paul having never kissed someone with a muzzle,   but it didn't take long for them to figure it out.  Pulling away to gauge Paul's reaction, Golden saw the same need reflected in the other's eyes and eagerly dove back in, holding the red head even closer and wringing a cute moan from his human that only encouraged him.

Dizzy and overwhelmed, Paul couldn't believe a simple kiss could feel so good!  He'd kissed and been kissed before, but even the most heated, full-blown make out sessions he'd had couldn't compare to this moment.  This slow, chaste kiss had more emotion in it and set his nerves on fire in the best way possible.

It was the unsettling feeling of several sets of eyes glaring daggers into his back that made a reluctant Golden pull away.  "I'd better let you go before your "moms" decide to intervene," he murmured, casting a wary glance down the hall.

"Well I uh, wouldn't want to ah, get you in trouble," Paul chuckled.  Though he was loathe to part from his boyfriend, he slid out of the bear's arms and unlocked his door.  Just before stepping inside he pushed up on his toes and pressed a sweet kiss to Golden's cheek.  "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Golden replied as the smiling human slipped into his dorm.  When he heard the door latch, Golden left, nodding to Mrs. Chouette as he passed the watching ladies, a happy smile on his muzzle.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"So...how was it?"

Seated in the dorm lounge with his "sisters" Paul tilted his head, brown eyes blinking once, "How was what?"

"Don't play coy...we heard Mrs. Chouette talking with the older ladies this morning."

"About what?"  Paul was so confused.

"Your kiss with Mr. Fazbear of course!"

"Wha-?"  Paul stared at the women, his mouth hanging open in surprise.  He'd never had anyone express this much interest in his dating progress.  They giggled as his face turned red while he thought over their question.  "It was amazing, I've uh, never h-had a kiss that good before."

The girls burst into a round of soft squeals and sighs, further confusing the human.

"Did he use his tongue?"

"!!!!!!" Paul's face darkened to match his hair, "N-no!  W-we d-didn't go that far!"

"All right girls, that's enough questions for now," Mrs. Chouette interrupted, much to Paul's relief.

"Aww."

-

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May 28, 2016

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1 - See Chapter 1


	6. Chapter 6

Title:  Service With a Smile - Welcome to the Fazbear Hotel!  
Part:  6/??  
Author:  Murasaki Rose  
Beta:  none  
Genre:  AU/Romance/Adventure/Sci-Fi  
Rating:  PG-13  
Spoilers:  None that I know  
Warnings:  Slash~i.e. male x male pairings, swearing, suggestive language and humor  
Pairings:  Golden Freddy x Phone Guy  
Minor Pairings:  Foxy x Chica, Toy Bonnie x Mangle, Toy Freddy x Toy Chica  
Disclaimer:  Here we go...Five Nights at Freddy's and all related characters are the property/creation of Scott Cawthon.   In other words, they aren't mine and I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just a fangirl having some fun.

Summary:  After being picked as the new general manager, Paul has one month to prove he's the man for the job.  But with xenophobic customers, jealous employees, a former employer out to sabotage him, and a flirty hotel owner, does the human stand a chance, or will he be sent back home?

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I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! OTL  I know this chapter is incredibly overdue and I can't believe it took me this long to finish it. It started with my having trouble picking a direction, then I got MASSIVELY distracted by Sister Location and figuring out where the Circus crew fit in and then I had to wrestle the chapter into what it is. I'm happy with the end result though and shouldn't take nearly so long to get the next chapter written.

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Golden smiled as his human let out a content sigh and snuggled closer; they were lounging on the couch in his apartment, watching television and exchanging lazy, sweet kisses during commercials.  Bending to kiss the top of Paul's head, Golden noticed something that made him pause, his t-shirt had slipped to one side revealing a tempting patch of skin on his shoulder.  Feeling mischievous, the bear leaned down and licked the exposed skin getting an explosive response from Paul.

With a startled shriek, the human bolted forward and fell to the ground like he'd been shocked with a taser.

Under the wide-eyed stare of his boyfriend, Paul climbed back onto the couch and settled back into his previous position, his cheeks a deep shade of red.

"Ah, I'm uh, sorry about that."

Aqua eyes gazed down at him in concern.  "Are you all right?"   Cupping Paul's cheek with one paw, he brushed a thumb across his heated cheekbone, "I didn't hurt you did I?"  If he had, he couldn't figure out how...

"Oh no!" Paul shook his head vehemently.  "N-no, I uh- well I'm just uh, a little...sensitive there, that's all."

"So I should avoid touching you there."

"NO!" Paul exclaimed, then slapped a hand over his mouth as the rest of his face turned red.  "I uh...I j-just wasn't expecting it, that's all."   Lowering his hand he muttered quietly, "I really liked it."

Chuckling, Golden drew his human back into his arms and kissed the spot in question, getting a soft squeak from the man who cuddled closer anyway, hiding his burning face in the bear's chest.  "Hmm, good.  Because you make the cutest noises when I do."  He chuckled again when Paul let out an embarrassed whine in response.

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If you asked him about daily life at the hotel, Paul would say that most days at the hotel were good, some were great, and others were tiring but not too bad.  Then there were the rare ones like today....

"Come now Paul-"

"Mr. Cawthon."

"Mr. Cawthon," the tall humanoid amended, "I suppose we haven't become well-acquainted enough for first names have we?  However, I believe **that** is a problem easily remedied."  Giving the red head a charming smile, he grabbed the human's free hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.  "Perhaps over dinner?"

Jerking his hand back, Paul held it to his chest as though he'd been wounded.  "Mr. Epimonos, I'm sorry but I told you before that I'm not interested.  I have a boyfriend, you know."

Stepping into the human's personal space, the humanoid enjoyed how the demure male appeared to be struggling not to curl into himself.  The shy ones were always the most fun to pursue.  "Now, now there's no need to lie."

"He's telling the truth," a new voice interrupted, giving Paul the opportunity to back away.  "-and you don't want to get my brother angry."

Frowning, Epimonos narrowed his eyes at the large brown bear now standing between him and his quarry.  'So the pretty human has some bodyguards, does he?'  Not one for conflict, he bowed and took his leave, there would be other opportunities.  "I'll see you around then...Mr. Cawthon."

Once he was sure the guest was out of range, the red head let out an exasperated sigh, frustration radiating from every inch of his slender frame.  "Thanks Freddy."

"It was nothing," his brow furrowed when he noticed how Paul was holding his hand.  "Did he hurt you?"

Paul shook his head, not wanting the bear to sic security on the annoyingly-persistent man.  "No, he just kissed it."  His face scrunched in distaste, "I really need to wash it off."  There was a crawling sensation lingering on the back of his hand from the unwanted contact.

"I'll walk you to the restrooms," Freddy offered.  He'd seen that look from guests before and wasn't convinced the man had given up.

Giving the bear a grateful smile, Paul nodded before heading towards the nearest restroom.  He really hoped Freddy's warning had been enough to ward him off for good.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"He did what?!"

"Golden, calm down!  I'm fine!" Paul protested as the bear checked him over.  "I made it clear I wasn't interested and if that wasn't enough, I uh, think Freddy's warning did the trick."

Letting out a disgruntled snort, the bear sat back in his chair, dragging Paul into his lap while grumbling under his breath about people not understanding the meaning of the word "no".  With his human safe and secure in his arms, he felt his irritation fade but the worry remained.  From past experiences he doubted this would be the last they'd hear from the guest before he left and those fears were threatening to set off his protective instincts.  Not wanting to scare Paul off but needing to appease his instincts somehow, he held the smaller male close, nuzzling his hair and pressing chaste kisses to every bit of exposed skin.

Though he didn't fully understand why, ( _There was still a lot he had to learn about Tieran courting and Tieran's in general._ ) Paul could tell this was something Golden needed to do and relaxed under the bear's gentle ministrations.  Humming his approval, he ran his hands across the bear's broad shoulders and back, eliciting a pleased murr from his boyfriend.

Satisfied his scent was covering the redhead, Golden pulled back just far enough to give Paul a proper kiss.

"You need to tell Spring about this," he insisted once they parted.

Paul flushed and shook his head.  "Oh, I uh wouldn't want to bother him.  I can ah, handle this on my own, you know."

Golden frowned and cupped the red head's cheek with one paw, his human could be stubborn over the strangest things.  "I'm sure you can, but it would make me feel better it you told him about it."

"All right.  I-I'll tell him."

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"He's only supposed to be here two more days, so uh, there's really no need to trouble yourself or the team.  I've uh, handled guests like this before, back on the colony."

The rabbit scowled, "I don't know how they handled things at your old job but making sure the staff is safe is never trouble."  Noticing that the human had cast his brown eyes to the floor, Spring placed a paw on his shoulder and waited until he looked back up.  "Even if you and Golden weren't together, you're still one of us and we take care of our own."

"Thanks Spring."  Paul gave the rabbit a weary smile, "I'm used to having to deal with this kind of uh, behavior until it gets serious."

Silver eyes widened in shock, "What kind of lazy morons were running your security?!"

"Oh it wasn't their fault!  Not-not really anyway.  They were just too short-handed so the owner didn't want us reporting every little thing to them."

And the scowl was back, "No offense Paul, but your old boss was an asshole."

Paul chuckled, while he wasn't one to speak badly of others behind their back, he couldn't help but agree with Spring's assessment of his former employer.

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"Really Paul this game has been fun, but it's time you stop playing hard to get."

Brown eyes narrowed, "I'm not playing, Mr. Epimonos.  I have a boyfriend and I'm not interested."

Determined to stop the human from walking away, the taller male reached out to reel the red head in by his waist, but Paul jumped out of range just in time.  Not deterred in the least, the guest took advantage of their close proximity to the wall and placed both hands against it, caging the smaller male between his arms.

Temper fraying, Paul glared up at the man, ready to lay into him for his uncouth behavior when he was taken aback by the lecherous smile on Epimonos' face.

"I believe it's time to end this game and move on to more pleasurable activities, don't you agree?"

Watching the human's brown eyes spark with anger made Epimonos' smile wider.  He loved flustering the shy ones.  They'd pretend to be angry and insulted by his crass words, but it never took much for him to convince them how right he was.

A low snarl from behind was his only warning before a huge paw gripped the back of his shirt and flung him into the opposing wall.  Shaking his head to clear the stars from his eyes, Epimonos looked to where Paul was only to be greeted by the terrifying site of his attacker:  a huge bear Tieran that was glaring him down, a low growl rumbling in his throat.

"You take care of Paul, Golden.  I'll deal with this guy," another voice spoke up, dragging the guest to his feet and hastily leading him away.

Snorting, the bear nodded then turned most of his attention to the human curled against his side, though he kept a wary eye on Epimonos until they rounded a corner.

"You're damn lucky we got there before you touched him."  Spring growled as he led the guest to the security office.  "Paul told us about you and I know you were told he was seeing someone."

Epimonos was about to make a snappy retort when the rabbit pushed him into the office where two glowering, Tieran bears were waiting.  

"Since the primary owner is currently being calmed by his chosen, let me introduce you to the hotel's secondary owners;  Freddy and Kima Fazbear."  The smile on Spring's face was razor sharp.

Recognizing the larger bear as the Tieran who'd interrupted him before, Epimonos felt a cold ball of dread form in his stomach as he put two-and-two together.  He was in big trouble.

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Alone with Paul, Golden stared down into the eyes of his chosen.  Or tried to anyway, since the human was stubbornly keeping his gaze averted.  Rather than argue, he gently gripped the red head's chin and tilted his head up, holding him there until warm brown met with vivid aqua.

The faint tremor he felt in the human's frame when their eyes met made his heart squeeze in pain.  Paul should never be afraid of him.  Hoping to soothe the smaller male, he held him close, one paw securely around his trim waist and the other rubbing up and down his back.  When Paul shifted in his embrace to place steady hands on his biceps he knew he'd succeeded.

His human calmed, Golden moved on to the next problem, he could barely detect HIS scent on the red head.  Not realizing that his instincts were in control, the black rings circling his irises grew a bit thicker as he leaned in to lick the underside of Paul's jaw and on up behind his ear being sure to cover every bit of exposed skin.  Then, giving his blushing human a reassuring smile, he tugged Paul's tie open and unbuttoned the top three buttons on his shirt.

"Uh, Golden?"

"Mine," the bear rumbled, leaning in to lick at Paul's exposed neck.

Paul's response was cut off with a breathy sigh as Golden's tongue skirted the edge of a very sensitive patch of skin on his neck.  Slender hands clutched at the bear's arms when he pushed Paul's open collar aside to attend to the junction between his neck and shoulder.

Had Mrs. Chouette mentioned anything like this?  Under the pleasurable assault he was having trouble focusing.  Was this normal or- oh God did that feel good- was he supposed to do something?!  "Hnn!  G-Golden!  I ah-ah-ah OH!!" a strong suckle to his neck ended Paul's stuttering with a soft cry.

Far more pleased than he should have been with Paul's reaction, Golden gave a slow, deep chuckle sending shivers down the human's spine in all the right places.  Unknown to either of them, the black ring was still spreading...

"Hah!  G-Golden please!  I can't-"

The plaintive cry accompanied by a sharp spike in Paul's wonderful scent, alerted the bear that he was about to push his chosen too far and snapped him back to his senses.  Pulling away but keeping his human secure in his arms, he assessed Paul's condition:  cheeks flushed, brown eyes dark, and heavily panting, the red head was gripping onto Golden's arms for dear life.  Oops.  He hadn't meant to go that far, but Paul's scent and those beautiful sounds he made...

Once his thoughts unjumbled enough that he could form a coherent sentence, a sulking Paul crossed his arms and gave his boyfriend a weak glare.  "N-now I have to w-w-wait to calm d-down before I uh, c-can get back to work, you know."

Nuzzling his ear, Golden kissed the shell in apology.  "Hmm.  I'm sorry I'm slowing you down, but I can't be sorry for getting you worked up."

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Golden didn't leave him alone for the rest of the day.

Having expected this after the last incident, Paul accepted the bear's presence and accommodated for it with ease.  What he found odd was that their friends seemed to be keeping their distance as well.  Stranger still, not only was Mrs. Chouette waiting at the dorms for them but Golden stayed until she took Paul under wing and ushered him inside.

"Spring told me what happened with that awful man," the owl started as she led Paul into the lounge.  "What he didn't tell me is what went on between you two afterwards."

"W-well..."  Paul explained Golden's insistence that they make eye contact, how the bear had soothed him, and, with as little detail as possible, how his boyfriend had "marked" him.

Glad she'd made the other ladies sit this conversation out, Mrs. Chouette gave the embarrassed young man a hug and smiled.  "Well, despite the cause of it, this is a wonderful sign."

"It is?"

She nodded, "In courtship, when a dominant suitor insists on eye contact it's a sign of equality."

"So he considers me his equal?"

"Yes!" the owl was beaming in delight, "It's a good sign for your future."

Paul's face flushed red, but his lips curved into a happy smile.

"However, today's events will affect the remainder of your courtship," she cautioned.  "But I'm sure you'll be able to handle it."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Hello, hello Golden!"

The bear looked up from his work as Paul entered his office, a soft smile on his face.   He was dressed in casual clothing today, wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

"Ready for your day of exploring?"

The red head nodded, brown eyes sparkling with excitement.  Foxy and Mangle were back on Tier and wanted to spend the day showing Paul more of what Luonto had to offer.  "Are you sure you'll be all right?"

Aqua eyes softened at his over-considerate human, "Paul, you can't confine yourself to the hotel grounds just to keep my instincts happy.  It's not healthy for either of us.  And don't you dare feel guilty about it, there was nothing to be done about either situation."

Paul sighed and gave him a rueful smile, "I just wish I could do something, you know?"

"You are," the bear countered.  "Now come here and let me mark you or you'll be late."

A soft blush rising on his cheeks, Paul approached his boyfriend, squeaking in surprise when he was tugged into his lap, landing with his legs straddling the bear's hips.  Despite this, he hummed and brought his hands up to Golden's shoulders as the bear smoothed his paws down Paul's back.

Assessing the new garment, Golden gave the collar of his human's t-shirt a thoughtful tug.  "I think this is going to have to come off."

Paul froze and stared at Golden with wide eyes, "Wh-what?!  Why?!"

The bear chuckled, "You don't want the collar stretched out do you?  Besides, I've seen you shirtless before."

"!!!!!"

Watching red cover his human's face and down his neck, Golden wasn't the least bit surprised when Paul abruptly buried his face in his shoulder.  The bear didn't know where this sudden shyness had come from, but it was absolutely adorable.  Suppressing a chuckle, he rubbed Paul's back in circular motions until the slender frame relaxed under his paws. 

A moment or so later, sheepish brown eyes peeked up at his boyfriend from their hidden position to gauge his reaction.  He didn't know why Golden's suggestion had made him so nervous and now that he'd calmed down, he felt utterly ridiculous.  Unfortunately for him, he couldn't see the bear's eyes from this angle without sitting up, so with some trepidation, he lifted his head.  To his relief, he found there was only a hint of amusement twinkling in the warm aqua orbs.

Taking a deep breath, Paul gave the bear a quick kiss, leaned back, and pulled his shirt over his head.  However he was unable to completely quell his nerves and ended up covering his chest with his shirt, the red never leaving his cheeks.

With the shirt no longer providing a barrier, Golden's paws immediately returned to Paul's back, getting a sharp inhale from the human when his palms touched bare skin.   'So sensitive,' he mused, wondering if this was a human trait or just Paul.   Regardless, he brought them a little closer before leaning down to lick and nuzzle Paul's neck.

Clutching tight to his shirt, Paul attempted to calm his racing heart as his boyfriend thoroughly covered him with his scent.  As Golden moved from his neck to his shoulder, the red head had to bite his lip to stifle a moan, he didn't want to distract the bear right now.

Moments later, Golden stopped and cupped the back of Paul's head to draw him into a kiss.  "I think you're ready," he said once they parted, resisting the urge to pout when the human put his shirt back on.

"I'll see you tonight," Paul promised, giving the bear one more quick kiss to his cheek before heading out.

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"How're ya handlin' tha change 'n Golden's behavior?" Foxy asked once the trio had settled down for a break, later that afternoon.

As he thought over his answer, Paul's face scrunched in a thoughtful frown.  "W-well, it's uh, a little different from what I'm used to, but it's not so bad."

"When you become mates he won't be so over-protective," Mangle reassured him.  "The need to keep your chosen close is a deeply ingrained instinct that we Tierans haven't been able to completely overcome, so we've learned to adapt when situations like this occur."

"That's what Mrs. Chouette said.  She said it had something to do with him worrying someone might steal me away?"

"Exactly!"

"I'm glad she explained it though," the red head continued.  "With humans, needing that type of control is a sign of a potentially abusive relationship."  He smiled, "Knowing it's not me he doesn't trust and it's something he has almost no control over really helps me keep things in perspective.  And since it only lasts during the courtship phase, I don't mind working with it."

Behind them Foxy grinned at his sister's choice of words and Paul's lack of reaction.  Either the lad was completely oblivious or agreed on at least a subconscious level.

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When they returned later that evening, no one was the least bit surprised that Golden was waiting for them at the dorms.

Paul's reaction surprised both foxes, though given his past behavior, it really shouldn't have.  The moment he spotted the bear, his face lit up and he quickened his pace, letting Golden snatch him up as soon as he was in reach.

Happy to see him again, Paul eagerly submitted to the shameless cuddles his boyfriend smothered him in, a breathless laugh escaping as he was swept into the bear's arms.  Peeking over Golden's shoulder, he waved goodbye to the twins before snuggling into his boyfriend's embrace as he was carried back to his dorm.

Once the duo were out of sight, Foxy turned to his sister, "I think Spring's goin' ta win."

Mangle laughed and slapped his back, "Never bet against the best friend, unless you're family."

-

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March 14, 2017

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